Before the Golden Mane
by NatalieLeon10694
Summary: The story of Aslan's life before Narnia was ever created. An old prophecy states that Aslan, "the second Jesu" is destined to restore peace to all the Magic Realms by defeating the evil sorcerer Dark. Will he accept his fate?
1. Prologue

~*~*Before The Golden Mane~*~*

by: NatalieLeon10694

Prologue:

_The Sun fell slowly between the peaks of the Northern Mountains._

_The dark glow of the rust sun dimly lighted the small valley below called Narnia._

_Watching this sunset was a Lion. _

_Not simply the Lion you're familiar with from the books._

_This Lion has another story; a story that a handful had heard of..._

_until now_

A long time ago, In a huge white palace near the sea a child was about to be born. This was not just any child, this was the Emperor's son. His highness was pacing nervously outside the Royal Quarters. Their first son, probably his only son, his heir to the throne was coming. The dreams and hopes he had since he married his wife all riding on this still unborn child.

His wife, the Empress, has been in labor since early afternoon, nearly five hours has past and there was no news. Thoughts were circling in his mind giving him a horrible headache. _What if this baby doesn't survive? What if I lose her? What if I lose them both?_ Quickly, he stepped out onto the balcony which had a perfect view of the western shore line. The image of dark blue waves crashing rhythmically upon the shore and the courtyards full of exotic flowers below would hopefully calm him. The Emperor hunched over the white marble railing looking out towards the sea. The salty breeze gently blew at his coarse brown hair. He inhaled deeply, loving every bit of this soothing setting.

The Emperor at that moment received a vision. He now claims it a vision but that night he thought he was just seeing things. Along the shoreline he saw creases in the wet heavy sand. They were paw prints! The biggest he had ever seen. His eyes curiously followed the track this "mystery creature" was making. Halfway up the shoreline the Emperor saw the beast. It was a huge burly male lion. What was going on? This island had no lions on it! Where did the creature come from? Before he could answer any of these questions the lion disappeared along with it's prints as if the waves had washed them away, never to be seen again.

"Your Majesty!" startled, he turned around. It was a nursemaid, Alexia was her name. " Anvena, The Empress, has given birth to a son." her voice was warm with happiness. The Emperor was so overjoyed he almost hugged the nursemaid. He tried to maintain a regal composure but found it hard to keep when he walked into the room. Anvena, the beautiful Empress, slouched comfortably on layers of pillows behind her back. Her long golden hair was undone and rested on her shoulders. And in her hands was a bulk wrapped in a white fleece blanket. Everything went numb in the Emperor's body when he saw two little hands appear from the coverings of the blanket and heard the sweet sounding gibberish of his new son.

The Emperor sat on the bedside close to his wife, who laid her head on his shoulder. "It is a boy Kalecgos, a boy." came Anvena's soft loving voice. Emperor Kalecgos smiled and kissed her forehead. "So I've heard." he murmured looking down at the blanket. The baby's skin was a light pink and he had a chubby looking face but that would eventually go away. Tiny little strands of blonde hair, like his mother's, were plastered to his scalp. The Emperor could see that the child inherited his masculine shoulders and face shape but many of its facial features were from his mother. Her chin, her cheek bones, her nose, all notable features of her.

"He's so beautiful," The Emperor whispered breathlessly as he extended his finger out so the baby could grasp onto it. He turned his head to his wife and added. "Like you."

Anvena let out gentle laugh.

"He'll probably end up acting like you." She began. Her happy expression faded into seriousness and she asked The Emperor: "What are we to name him, Kalec?" The Emperor thought of this for a moment. There were so many names suitable for this child. Then he remembered the image of the Lion on the shore. Was that a sign of his son's birth? The child needed a name as strong and majestic as a lion. The Emperor took the child into his own arms and raised the child towards the sky.

" My son, The Heir to my throne, has been blessed with the image of a lion to proclaim his birth. A vision of such power given to a newborn deserves the honor of a child with a powerful name.

With that, I name this baby boy...

Aslan."


	2. I Shall Not Be Mocked!

I Shall Not Be Mocked!

Darkness swept over the corridor. Nothing but a weak flame from a candle lit the area. An evil red light was emitted from the flame, a very unnatural color. The room was bare except for a cheap cot and a desk. It could easily be seen that this person lived a very simple life. The door opened with a loud creak. A man in a black robe walked in, his footsteps barley making a sound on the worn wooden floor.

"Sire," the man's rough voice rippled through the silence. "The Emperor's son has been born." Suddenly the small flame on the candle exploded into an red flare. Embers spitting all over the floor. A figure was visible now with the increase in light. Like the man the figure was clothed with only black. It's wiry profile framed by the red spitting fire. A deep voice, rougher than sand paper came from the form known as "sire".

" I try all of my magic..." the person was enraged and as it spoke the fire swelled more and more. " And this child was still born. A little baby, survived my powerful magic!" A slam on the desk, probably its fist, again the fire crackled more embers all over the floor. The being turned towards the man who seemed expressionless. Unafraid of the orange specks scattered all around him every little one with the potential to set the room ablaze.

"The Emperor's Magic has gotten stronger than yours." The man answered coolly. " He must have reversed all your vexes and curses."

Silence. A long bony hand appeared over the tongues of fire. The flare died down, slowly, back to the tiny flame it originally was. " You insult me?!" The voice was strangely calm.

There was the sound of choking then a thud on the floor. "I, Dark..." The figure said with anger. "shall not be mocked." Dark walked over the dead man and slammed the door shut behind him. The candle's flame wisped away once the room was empty. And there was total darkness.


	3. The Simplicity

A white dove landed gracefully on a dirt pathway. It fluttered it's wings, ridding specks of earth from it's pure white feathers. It looked around, seeing tall grass stretching out beyond the borders of the path. The dove then began to walk down the pathway, cooing, not having a care in the world. The earth suddenly began to shake. Frightened, the poor white dove began to look nervously about itself and stopped it's sweet happy cooing. A strange noise came from the distance, a sound the dove was not familiar with and it didn't want to stay and find out. Quickly and as gracefully as before, it flew up into the sky, to find another place where it can go and sing it's carefree song.

Below back on the dirt path someone else was coming up the dirt road. A young boy, about ten years old, riding upon a big black mare. He had a golden scruff of hair with a lopsided silver circlet upon his head. His stalwart figure was concealed with a light blue tunic and white tights, which were stained with muck and grass . His feet bare and covered in mud. This child would seem to look far from royalty, but it _was_ truly, Prince Aslan. Ten years had passed since his birth and now he was a strong young boy who enjoyed visiting the dirtiest places he could find.

Today, he planned on riding towards the castle and spend the afternoon by the beach. He loved being by the shore seeing the sun set, seeing all the yellows, pinks, reds, and blues all blend in together. His black mare suddenly slowed her pace to a trot.

"Morgan," Prince Aslan said giving her a gentle pat on her thick neck. "You alright?"

Morgan. The simplicity of the name is startling isn't it, for such a royal horse. However, there was a story behind her name. One of the Emperor's council member's horse had given birth to Morgan. Aslan's 5th birthday was right around the time, so the new foal was a gift for the Prince. Emperor Kalecgos took Aslan to see the foal that was soon to be his own. Kalecgos thought his young son would be interested to know what breed of horse the foal was.

"She's a purebred Morgan," The Emperor told Aslan as he opened the stable door. The five year old prince couldn't hide how excited he was to see the black foal. Immediately after his father opened the door Aslan walked in and hugged the foal's neck.

"Morgan!" Aslan exclaimed happily.

"No," Kalecgos said. "That's her _breed_ not her _name_."

"I want that to _be_ name her Father." Aslan pleaded. "Morgan."

"But it's such a simple name... she talks you know, son. I think she deserves a more special name." Kalecgos said trying to get the little boy to change his mind. Still, Aslan clutch to the foal's neck sticking to his decision.

" I don't mind." the voice came from the black colt. High pitch and engaging, like a little girl's voice. She turned her muzzle towards the Prince's forehead to lick it. " I actually like the name... and any name my human likes, I like too."

"She _does_ talk!" Aslan exclaimed his amber-colored eyes sparkling with awe. The foal let out a whinny that would probably sound like a laugh.

"Of course I do!" She neighed proudly. The Emperor sighed and blinked slowly as a smile appeared on his face,

"Alright," He said with a slight chuckle in his voice. " Her name shall be Morgan." Since that day forth Aslan had taken the best care he could give to his horse. Their bond grew very close and were pretty soon inseparable. The horse grew so close to him she refused to let anyone else rid her except the prince unless Aslan had told her otherwise. He treated her like a human friend and she treated him like he was of her own kind.

"Aslan," the black mare panted. " I've been running quiet a lot." He quickly dismounted her and walked over towards her large black face. Gently, he stroked her jet black muzzle.

" Is something wrong? Did you hurt one of your legs? Does one of your hooves have a chip in it!?" He asked her worriedly. The mare snorted irately then playfully nibbled at his golden hair to silence him.

"I am alright!" She said with a stamp of her heavy hoof. "I just need to get a little rest... you know I cannot run forever!"

"Fine," He said grabbing hold of her reins, "We will walk from here towards the beach." The boy felt her head nudge his back. With a laugh, he added: "And we'll stop by a the water troughs so you can drink." A delightful whinny came in response.

-------*--------*-----------*-------------------*-------------*---------*------

The white foam bubbled over the white soft sand. Morgan's hoof beats were muffled trotting along the Western Shoreline, with Aslan by her side. Their timing was perfect. The Sun just began to fall behind the ocean. Aslan sat down a few feet from the rising tide, watching the sun set.

He thought of what lay far beyond this sea. All those unknown worlds waiting to be discovered. So many he had never visited but oh, he wish he could! These thoughts made him turn his head to Morgan (who was standing close beside him) and asked her; "Morgan, do you ever wonder what lies beyond this sea?" A soft whinny was her response.

"My Dear Prince," She said gently. " I have never thought much of it. Probably because of the fact I do not like swimming." Her joke made Aslan smile.

"Maybe you think that way," he began. "But I want to know everything that lies beyond this sea! There has got to be hundreds of worlds out there all waiting for me to find them. I want to visit them all Morgan! Once I become Emperor I will have already visited every realm."

"I would not doubt you. You keep your word. I bet you will visit all of those places beyond here." Then she added. "Maybe even create one yourself someday."

"Could that be possible?" he asked the black mare.

"Only if you believe you can." She murmured encouragingly.

"Then I will," He stated aloud. "Someday... I will."


	4. Fire Flower

Training:

Quietly in the direct center of the meadow stood the Prince. Silent and still. The day was overcast and windy. The grass would sway wildly when an gust of the strong ocean breeze blew through. However, Aslan took no notice to it. His head straight forward, staring hard at a certain spot of grass. He squinted his eyes, focusing on the spot studying every last detail on each blade of green. His hands slowly rose up. They were tense as if he was holding something heavy. Suddenly, the spot began to change. A small bulge formed under the grass as if something was trying to come out from underground. The bulge grew and grew until it was nearly the extent of a normal sized hill.

His hands were now above his head. Still strained, holding that invisible weight. He put one foot forward, bent his knee to still keep his balance.

Then he threw his hands out to his sides. A huge wind blew behind him as he did so. His golden hair blowing in all directions his circlet nearly fell off his head. The strong wind collided head on into the new hill that was just formed. The hill burst open sending dirt, grass, and roots flying through the air. Despite dirt stinging his eyes Aslan stayed where he was, not moving a muscle. The air stream had faded away letting all the rubble from the explosion float back to the ground.

A man came out from behind a shrub and walked up behind Aslan. His stride was stately and slow. Brown hair covered his ears and reached to his neck. A light beard also was a distinct feature along with his light green eyes. Soon, he had reached the boy's side and placed a large hand upon his shoulder. Aslan stood back up straight once he felt the warm hand grip his shoulder.

"Excellent job." came the man's voice.

"Thank you, Father." Aslan responded gratefully. Looking back ahead at where the hill used to be you could see something amongst the unturned earth. A decent size patch of reddish orange flowers like a fire. The flower in general was beautiful with a large bulge where the base of the petals meet the stem. Their scent was strong but sweet smelling. A scent Aslan had never sniffed before but oh, he was glad he knew of the fragrance now.

"A fire flower," The Emperor stated out loud not to anyone in particular. " It does not look like it has any imperfections at all. Exactly like the real thing. Perfect!" Aslan once again thanked his father for the praise.

"You do remember what the fire flower is used for, my son?" Emperor Kalecgos asked.

"It is used for curing wounds." Aslan responded. "It's nectar can cure any injury even the most serious of wounds...right?"

"Exactly," The Emperor said patting his son's shoulder. "Today I want you to gather some for yourself to keep. You must used it wisely. Only one drop for all the injuries." As he said this he handed Prince Aslan a cordial. The bottle was already snuggled in a red leather holster, so the fragile glass the vial was protected.

Aslan had been practicing magic since he was about nine. Kalecgos wanted to start Aslan's training early so his son would learn more and put the learning to use. Magic, at the moment was one of the majors of the training. The Prince, so far, has only learned the basic magic skills. He has yet to grow stronger to produce more powerful enchantments. Today, however, seems to be a good day for the Prince. It's not every day a wizard-in-training can make a mystical flower appear out of nothing.

Aslan bent down in front of one flowers. He placed the cordial's mouth underneath the tips of red and orange petals and then squeezed the bulge at the end of the bud. A tawny liquid began to trickle out from inside of the blossom. Slowly, the nectar began to drip into the cordial. It took a good ten minutes to get enough of the juice to fill up the bottle. The flower doesn't have much it wants to give up. Each flower only filled the cordial up a quarter way so he had to use more than one flower to fill it. Not to mention a few times he gripped the bud too hard and the nectar shot out all over his hands and sleeves.

Once the task was finished he walked back towards his father placing the cordial in the holster on his belt. Kalecgos smiled and rubbed the top of Aslan's head, setting his hair into a blonde mess.

"You might want to clean your hands when we get back to the castle." Kalecgos suggested inoffensively.

"They are already sticking together!" Aslan groaned as he tried to unclasp his gluey hands.

"There is a pond (as the Emperor said this he pointed to the west towards two oak trees) past those two trees if you need to wash them now."

"Thank Goodness!" Aslan exclaimed as he ran towards the trees.

"Don't take too long son!" Kalecgos warned with a laugh. "Otherwise your mother will wonder what has become of you!"

Aslan was so caught up in trying to get the sticky mess off his hands he didn't reply to the friendly caution. Kalecgos sighed as he made small smile. And with a shake of his head he walked back towards Castle Mohteleum.


	5. He is Back

He is Back

"Your Majesty!" cried a voice from behind Emperor Kalecgos. "There is news from Elves!" Kalecgos turned around to see his Nobleman running up to him. The sweat from the Nobleman's brow was dripping from his forehead onto the stone path.

"My friend, either you ran a long way to tell me this, or you need more exercise.'' Kalecgos said with a smile. The Nobleman did not take kindly to the joke.

"I am not overweight, if that is what you are suggesting." said he in a defensive manner. Indeed, the Nobleman was not fat. Actually, he was rather slim for his lavish lifestyle. He had light blonde hair that he pull back into a ponytail and wore the most expensive jackets and tunics he could get his hands on. Today, he was wearing a dark purple coat with golden buttons down the front and white jodhpurs with a ivy stitching on the seams of the pants. Then his feet here dressed in black leather boots that had a small heel.

"Oh Fendrel," said Kalecgos patting his Nobleman's shoulder. " You take my jokes too seriously. Anyway, back to the point! What news comes from the Elves?"

" _He_ is back, my lord." Fendrel whispered into the Emperor's ear. The sounds of servants chatter suddenly silenced, distance bird calls were inaudible. Even the hanging lamp's flame quivered for a moment. Kalecgos turned his head toward his Nobleman. His eyes wide in worry and shock.

"This cannot be! My Father banished him long ago! How could he have returned." Kalecgos said with multiple shakes of his head.

"Dark is stronger than you think, My Emperor.'' stated Fendrel seriously. " I have been told he ravaged a whole city, leaving no survivors. Sire, he murdered innocent women and children! Children you son's age! Does this not send chills up your spine?"

"Do not speak of that to me!" hissed the Emperor. " I do not wish to hear any suggestion that my son is in danger. Aslan is capable of defending himself! He is only ten and I bet you he can handle a sword better than you, Fendrel. Please, was there anything else besides the attack?"

Fendrel nodded. " The Elves wish to wage war on Dark... I negotiated the best I could, sire, but they are a rather stubborn species. Their leader, Eresir, is so filled with rage that he almost struck me down when I told him to stand down. He sent out scouts to find Dark but he is no where within their lands."

"Eresir is a fool to think Dark would stay in their lands after such an attack." Kalecgos stated.

" That is not all. There was a note, Kalecgos, one of Dark's minions left it on the gates to the ruined city. You will not like what it says."

"Tell me, Fendrel."

"He threatened the Prince's life."

Kalecgos ran his fingers through his hair. His seriousness turned into fright. the Emperor knew why Dark had such hate for his son. The Prophecy. Aslan was destined to destroy Dark and rid the universe of his deadly poison. Dark would never take something so lightly.

_Why now?_ Kalecgos thought. _Aslan is about to turn eleven in a month. Dark would have tried to kill Aslan when he was just a baby. Still, this is a threat no less. I must take action. _

" I believe Dark was not present at this siege, his men did his dirty work for him. Send a letter to Eresir, tell him I will send some soldiers to aid in his search. And as for here, I shall have my best soldiers guarding Mohthelieum until things settle down."

"What about the Prince?" asked Fendrel. Kalecgos turned to him.

" He'll be staying in the palace for the week, he needs to get back to his lessons. I will have to notify Zanze."

"She is still his tutor?" Fendrel asked.

"What is the matter? She is an excellent tutor." Kalecgos asked.

"Is she not from Earth? No wizard from there has ever ended up meaning much good to us. Not to mention she is from a savage land!"

"_You_ watch your tongue. Zanze is a close friend to my Empress as is to me. Go! Leave and do the orders I gave you! I do not care to hear your prejudice venom." Kalecgos said sternly. The Nobleman shriveled up into a submissive state, his proud walk now was gone as he walked off away from the palace.

Kalecgos went up into the west tower of the castle and made his way to the lounge. Anveena was sitting amongst her ladies-in-waiting chatting of feminine matters. They were all sitting in comfy armchairs eating tarts and drinking tea. The Empress had such a talent of making friends, she even befriended her servants and workers. How? Kalecgos never knew. The Emperor wished to get along with his servants as well as she. Anveena turned away from her conversation and toward where her Emperor was standing. A beautiful white smile came upon her face.

"Eavesdropping, my dear?" She giggled. The ladies-in-waiting raised their hands to their mouths as they softly laughed at the Empress' joke.

"Not today, Anveena." He said softly walking up to where the women were sitting. He reached out his arm. Anveena daintily placed her hand in his as she got up out of her seat. Kalecgos lead her toward the doors. "I need to talk with you." he said gently rubbing her soft hand.

* * *

"About time!" neighed Morgan as Aslan returned from washing his hands.

"I'm sorry," he said putting his foot in the stirrup and climbing into the saddle. " I did not realize how far the pond was from here. I know you don't like to be late for your lunch." The Prince kicked her belly and she set off for the stables.

Morgan was beginning to get rather impatient and decided to take the shortcut through the village. The village mostly consisted of the servants who worked at the palace and peasants. You might be relating the town to a filthy, poor slum. The village of Mohthelieum was anything but that. The main road in the town was paved with cement blocks and all the side streets were paved in smooth grey stones. Each building was built with sturdy frames made of strong wood. The walls were brick not mud and roofs were shingled not thatched. Most homes were painted white, to match the castle's color, but shops were painted different colors depending what type of materials they sold. No villager lived on the streets they all had professions that paid them good money and they lived easy and well sustained. Aslan had never gone with his father to visit any other countries because he was still too young. Nevertheless, he knew that he probably would never see a town that looked so clean and happy as this one. Morgan slowed her run to a trot as she entered the town. The streets were filled with laughter from young children and the sounds of adults at work. Mothers calling there children in to eat lunch and fathers at work in their shops. As the Prince and Morgan went further into the town more and more villagers began to notice. They would stop what they were doing and call out his name and bid him welcome. Being courteous, Aslan would bow his head and wave. Suddenly a group of children came running up beside Morgan's right flank. Most of the children looked his age or younger.

"Prince Aslan! Prince Aslan!" They called out. He turned Morgan about so he faced the group of children. A little boy came up with a red apple in his hand. Morgan was staring at the apple, drooling like a dog.

"Can I feed your mare this, Aslan?" The Prince smiled seeing Morgan nodding her head furiously at the boy.

"Yes," he finally answered. " She would love one." The boy was so overjoyed that he was allowed to feed the royal horse he nearly leaped for joy. The boy slowly reached out his hand with the apple in it. Morgan gingerly gripped the apple with her teeth and lifted it out of the boys hand then hungrily wolfed it down. "Morgan has not had her lunch yet." He explained as Morgan swallowed.

"Thank you," she neighed as she touched the child's forehead with her black nose. "But we must be off now." Without Aslan saying a word, she turned back around and trotted off down the street while the children all screamed their goodbyes.

When they finally got through the town, it was only a few minutes until they reached the stables. Most of the horses were out in the pasture grazing. Aslan dismounted Morgan when they reached the dirt road leading to the stables. The Prince opened the large barn door and guided his mare in. There was only one horse present in the entire barn and that was Kalecgos' stallion inside its stall, sleeping.

" Validus!" Morgan neighed. The huge stallion sleepily fluttered his eyes open and glared at the young black mare. Aslan busied himself by unfastening her saddle.

"Honestly," He snorted. "Must you wake me from my sleep? It is rude to disrupt your elders while they slumber."

She lowered her head as her rider took off her bridle. Aslan felt her soft dark snout brushed his hair and mutter in his ear "It is only rude because they get cranky if you do." Validus had to be the largest and one of the oldest horses in the stable. Yet, despite his old age the stallion was in excellent shape. Many horses his age would be grazing in the pastures getting fat on grass. The dun stallion usually was quite gentle and kind to the younger horses but Morgan probably got on his harsh side by interrupting his nap.

The mare lost interest in talking to Validus and walked into her stall. Aslan shut the door behind her. Morgan's stall had a large open front stall where she could easily socialize with the horses next to her and have much more neck room. She leaned over the gate and nuzzled the Prince's cheek. He patted her neck in return.

" I'll be back later tonight." he told her as he was putting her saddle and bridle away. Morgan was already eating hay when the Prince was talking to her. "Hmm? Oh! Okay, that is fine with me." she responded through her mouthful.

Aslan walked to the back corner of the barn, where the line of stalls ended. There was a huge closet where most of the Lords kept their hunting arsenal. Aslan, being too young to go on hunting trips, could not put anything inside the closet. Yet he still got away with it. He would hide his weapons under a tarp so no one noticed anything was there. Some Lords did take notice but they did not say anything. Having the benefit of being the Emperor's son can really some in handy at times, especially if it has to do with getting in trouble. The Prince turned the small golden knob and pulled the heavy wooden door open. All the lords' bows and quivers were hanging on racks and their swords lined up on the bottom of the closet underneath their hanging bow. The front part of the closet was open for him to use. He bent down and uncovered the tarp that was neatly placed at the edge of the closet floor. Underneath it was his bow. The Prince's bow stood as tall as him and was specially made by a group of woodland elves. It was carved out of a tree that the elves called 'Mahtlyco' it was considered to be a great building material because the wood was very strong and sturdy. The natural color of the tree was a ugly russet so it was painted a dark shade of brown. A golden leaf pattern was painted down the face of the bow, stopped at the handle and then started again below where he would place his hand all the way down to the end of the bow. The handle was red with painted golden rings. Then the string was white. His quiver was made of ivory with a leather strap. The arrows he had had sharp metal tips attached to wooden rod with red feathers on the end. All in all, it was a very beautiful bow and quiver. Aslan quickly strapped the quiver on and made way to the forest to practice, but before he left the barn he grabbed a sack that was laying on Morgan's gate. It was his lunch.

The woods were at the edge of the horse pasture, huge, green maples and elms and pines stood tall and proud against the bright sun. The forest floor only received tiny licks of sunlight thanks to the trees' branches. Aslan went deep into the woods, away from the horses, away from the castle, away from everything. The feeling of no one but him and woods was soothing and peaceful. He took out his knife and carved a bulls eye on a aspen. Once he finished that task he took his bow and walked backwards until he found a spot that he felt comfortable shooting from. He kneeled down at the closest tree to the south, which was quiet a few meters away. Aslan plucked at the string to make sure it was still fastened correctly, the high pitch_ twang, twang_ told him it was ready to go. He reached for his back grabbing one of his arrows, and strung it. The Prince Lifted the bow up holding the arrow to the string gingerly in his hands, he stared at his target setting up the correct aim. All sounds droned out, he could hear nothing but the sound of the string as he pulled it. He did not hear the sound of approaching footsteps as he fired and he did hear a voice scream 'STOP!' while the arrow was flying toward the target he carved on the tree, which was now blocked by a body of white.


	6. Not Just Trees

Not Just Trees

_Thwack!_ The noise cracked through the silent air. Aslan knew the sound too well. He missed. The arrow hit the tree. A huge huff of air escaped from his lips as he lowered his bow. Aslan directed his golden eyes to the fool who was brainless enough to run in front of a flying arrow, and lives to tell the tale.

" Are you mad?!" He snapped. " I could have ---!" The Prince suddenly went quiet. Before him, stood a young girl, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her hair was colored light brown with soft gentle curls that reached down to her breast. She wore a simple white dress over her slim frame. The dress was cut so her lower legs and feet were visible, a design the Prince was not very familiar with. Her feet were bare and covered in dirt from the forest, but even being covered in filth her feet looked appealing. Yet, her face was were her true beauty dwelled. The girl's nose, jaw bones, cheek bones all in perfect harmony and perfection on her circular face. Her eye brows arched and just in between too thin and too thick, her eyes were the color of grass in the spring, the unusual color made Aslan infer she may be a harvester of magic as well. The Prince and the girl's eyes were locked on each other, a feeling was surging between them; a emotion they would not understand until much later. Aslan broke the calm, silent moment saying:

" I could have killed you!"

The girl turned around and walked up to the carved bulls eye. She grabbed the arrow and pulled it out of the tree's trunk and held the arrow up. "Why are you shooting arrows into a tree?" She asked with a sharp tone. The Prince was a little discouraged his first conversation with this pretty girl was turning out to be an argument, he wanted to hear sweet, gentle words coming from those soft lips, but that was not the case.

"Target practice," The Prince began. "I was working on my aim---until you interrupted me." The girl threw the arrow at Aslan's feet.

"It is a good thing I did!" She said crossly. "You would have hurt the tree!"

Did he just hear that correctly? 'You would have hurt the tree.'? Aslan knew trees did not have minds of their own, trees cannot feel an arrow stabbing their bark like a human when an arrow pierces their heart. Surely, the girl must have been delusional.

"What are you talking about, maiden?'' Aslan asked harshly. The girl walked up to the Prince and sat on the forest floor beside his flank.

"You want to know a secret?" she whispered engagingly. The Prince fell back from his crouch to sit, like she. His eyes searching through those green irises for a sign of decisiveness. Aslan found none.

"What secret?" He asked in his regular tone. She immediately put her finger to his lips to silence him.

"Shh!" She commanded in a low voice. "This is a secret. What if there are others in the woods? They will here you." The Prince took her hand and pushed it away from his face.

"Alright," he retorted softly. " I do not want you to silence me again. What is the secret?"

The girl moved in closer and muttered only loud enough for the Prince to catch.

"The trees are alive."

The Prince's eyebrows rose up. She _had_ to be lying. He heaved himself up and prepared to leave. "I knew it, you _are_ insane! You have been in these woods too long, you should go home and rest." Aslan declared as he began walking off. The girl's hand grasped onto his arm, insisting he stay. Aslan turned around his tawny eyes were starting to show signs of irritation, and the girl knew she had to think fast before he reacted.

"No! No, please, I am sorry. I do not mean to anger you, really. But I am not crazy nor am I lying. It is true!" she claimed letting go of his arm. He hesitated a moment and for some reason he decided to hear her out.

To this day, the Great Lion still wonders why he did not leave the young maiden in the forest that day. Was it her beauty that lured him to stay? Or was it fate?

The girl began her explanation to the Prince. '' I have been traveling through the woods for some time since I first moved here with my father. A few days ago, when it was close to dusk, I saw the most unbelievable thing appear before my eyes. A huge burr tree lifted up it's roots like we lift our legs, and began to lumber westward. It made such a horrible noise as it walked, branches cracking and earth crumbling under it's bulky 'feet'. I was in such shock all I could do was scream. The tree turned around. It did not look like any normal tree, the branches and leaves formed the shape of a face, similar to an elderly man's. The Burr beckoned me to join him. I could not refused for he picked me right off the ground with one of his many branches and I clung onto the limb for life as I saw how far off the ground I was.

"The tree explained everything. He claimed most of the trees in this forest have been born with life. There was a magical soil within the forest the seeds were planted in and that is how he gained life. The Burr told me of many other forms of these magic trees that dwelled in the forest that only came out at night. Tree women who looked much like regular human women except with clovers for hair and rough brown skin like bark. Then there were the tree spirits who were formed by petals and leaves and also took form of humans. There was a celebration that night and it was so bizarre but so beautiful! It is like nothing you have ever seen! The tree told me there would be another festival soon. Oh! I know! Why don't you come with me? I can prove the trees are alive by showing you. Will you come? Oh please do! It is not as much fun with no one to share it with."

"Well," Aslan began, thinking about the offer. " Why on earth would I go? I do not even know your name."

The maiden reached out her hand to the Prince. "My name is Lilly. Lilly Swanwhite." A grin came upon Aslan's face. She truly _was_ a lily, no doubt. The Prince grab hold of her hand and shook her hand.

" I am Aslan." He initiated. Lilly bowed her head as a kind grin came upon her face. She must have not known who he was. Any other villager or peasant would have immediatley bowed before him and rolled out the repetitive praises, but Lilly didn't. She treated him like a normal boy, not a prince. Aslan admired this and declined to state that he was the Emperor's son.

"You haven't food with you do you?" she asked weakly holding her stomach. "I haven't eaten since early this morning." The Prince nodded, he walked over toward a rock that was near the tree with the bulls eye, and picked up the cloth sack.

"Here, see if you find something you like." The Prince said offering her the bag of food. Lilly nodded her thanks then sat on the forest floor looking through the sack of rations. Aslan noticed her seating posture. Back upright, legs folded, her dress skirt laid out on the dead leaved and grass with almost no wrinkles visible.

"You sit like a lord's daughter." Aslan complemented. Lilly looked down at herself, she did not think her sitting posture was anything close to looking courtly.

" You think that?" she responded him placing the bag in her lap.

" _Are_ you a lord's daughter?" Aslan raised curiously. Lilly looked at him and shook her head, her large curls gently swaying back and forth as she did so. Aslan's heart sank, his mother and father would approve greatly of his new friend if she was a child of a noble.

" My father works as a gardener in the huge white castle a little ways from here. I help him from time to time, he has taught me everything about foliage. You name a plant and I have probably seen it." Lilly said with satisfaction.

The Prince was close to blurting out that he lived at the castle, but he remembered to hold his tongue. _Any flower, eh? _He thought with a smile. _Father said the Fire Flower is so rare, almost no one knows of it. _The Prince decided to put Lilly's knowledge to the test.

"Have you heard of the Fire Flower?" Aslan asked with a determined grin on his face. Lilly looked at him with confused eyes, just what he expected.

" That flower died out long ago, it no longer exists."

"Yes, it still does."

"_The_ Fire Flower? _The_ flower with the magical sap which can cure wounds?"

"Yes, I have seen it with my own eyes, in fact I even have a bottle of its powerful juice."

"Really? Prove it. I want to see it."

Aslan reached for his tunic's pocket, noticing nothing was inside it. The Prince then realized he left the cordial in a pouch on Morgan's saddle, at the stables. He laughed uneasily as Lilly crossed her arms with a victorious smile on her lips.

"I left the cordial on my horse's saddle." Aslan said with a sad sigh.

"Sure you did." Lilly giggled as she took out a red apple from the Prince's lunch sack.

" I swear," he affirmed taking back the bag and pulling out a sandwich.

The two sat there eating and talking for a long while. The Prince hadn't noticed how quickly the time was passing, when he broke the conversation to look up at the sky, the sun was no longer at it's highest point but farther west. Dusk would come in a few hours.

" I must go." He stated picking up his bow. He reached for his quiver, but Lilly picked it up for him.

" You _will_ come tonight," She asked softly. "Won't you?" Aslan took the quiver from her hands and fastened is to his back. Lilly waited patiently for his answer, her spring green eyes filled with anticipation.

" I will," He replied with a smile. " I shall meet you by the barn once it is dark." Lilly clapped her hand together and had the happiest grin on her face. She walked with him to the edge of the forest, where Aslan said he knew his way from there. The Prince said his farewells to the young girl and walked out into the sunny pasture. Validus was out in the pasture. The stallion caught sight of the Prince and trotted up to him. Aslan waited, seeing what the horse wanted.

" Where have you been, child?" the stallion asked. Aslan showed his bow the horse, Validus nodded and added. "Your father came by a while ago, wondering where you were. I suggest getting home quickly, unless you want to witness your father's wrath for late dinner guests!"


	7. Zanze's Return

Aslan reached Mohthelieum as the sun, now colored orange, was right between the mountain peaks of the far, rocky west coast. The ground below was flooding with dark reds and yellows. The light went farther and farther east, and the colors dulled to blues and purples, the castle itself transformed from the bright white of noon to a soft light blue of dusk. The Prince could see the servants at the windows. This was about the time when they were lighting the chandeliers to illuminate the dark, long halls for the night. The soldiers were setting up for the night patrols. Tonight, though, it seemed there were many more soldiers than the other nights. They all were heavily armed as well. Aslan walked past the huge stone doors of the entrance and onto the limestone bridge, leading to castle grounds. Mohthelieum had no wall; for the castle was built on a ridge surrounded by steep hills and a thin but deep trench, which the bridge was built upon.

By luck, the Prince found Empress Anveena and Emperor Kalecgos in the throne room. The Emperor gave a hearty laugh as he caught sight of his son, plodding up to his side.

" Ah! There you are my boy," Kalecgos exclaimed as Aslan came closer. " I do not know how you can disappear for so long on this small isle!"

Anveena knelt down to hug the Prince, but he inched back as her arms reached out.

"Mother," he scolded softly, looking up to his father. " I am too old to be given hugs from you!"

" Oh by Jesu!" She exclaimed. "What in the world have you been telling him, dear?" The Empress grabbed hold of her son's hands. " Aslan, you will come to know that you are never old enough to receive and embrace from your conceiver."

"Yes mom," he said softly as he wrapped his arms about her shoulders.

His mother went on talking.

" Do you know of our special dinner guest?" Anveena asked the child.

" No, who is it? Is it Fendrel?" Aslan asked. _Please do not let it be Fendrel._ Aslan begged soundlessly.

" Unfortunately, our Nobleman had to run an errand. I think you shall like our guest, Aslan. She has been wanting to see you for quiet a while.'' Anveena retorted gently as she stood up. The Empress turned her royal head towards the Great Hall.

The enormous hall had fifteen stained glass windows, all depicting different stories upon them, few that Aslan were familiar with. Three windows were right behind his mother and father's white marble and gold thrones and the rest on the side walls. Ivory colored pillars shot up to hold the high ceiling of the Hall, twelve on each side. Every one had either a gold or maroon drape entwined about it. The columns made a single direct lane that started at a huge archway, which was bordered with a gilded casing. In that archway stood a tall figure.

" Thou may come out now, darling." Anveena called out. "The Prince desires to see you." Aslan watched with anticipation, who was this guest?

The figure moved into the dim light shed by the stained glass. The guest was tall woman. Her skin was dark and covered by huge armbands and bracelets. Her hair was pulled back and braided in tight and tiny strands. She wore a loose-fitting red dress that bared her arms. She also wore a golden band on her hips to give the dress a shape to it.

"Zanze!" The Prince cried joyfully. Aslan ran up to the woman and gave her a welcoming bear hug, practically knocking his tutor over.

Anveena stood beside her husband. She leaned closer to Kalecgos and muttered to him. "I do not understand, he does not want to hug his birth mother, but he hugs his tutor."

Kalecgos smiled. " It is only because he sees thou everyday. Besides, you mothers always make it embarrassing on us men." Anveena playfully hit Kalecgos' arm, a soft laugh breaking their lips.

"My lord and lady," A skinny servant wearing a very clean white apron walked into the room, coming from the West Wing, (where the dining room was). " The cook wishes to inform you that the meal is finished." The servant bowed and left the four to their business.

"Well then," Kalecgos said clapping his hands together. " Shall we start dinner?" The other three unanimously agreed. The Emperor, Anveena, Aslan, and Zanze made way to the dinning room, which was just as grand as the corrosive Great Hall.

There was but one table in the entire room, it stretched to the height of a full grown maple tree with many chairs for the Emperor and Empress' vast parties and their guests. Anveena and Kalecgos sat straight in the middle Aslan on Kalecgos' right and Zanze was welcomed to sit on Aslan's right. The lavish food before them was laid out and organized, just like it always was. The meat was always in the center, today it was a large pig, and then side dishes: fruits, breads, shrimps, and other extravagant foreign hors d'oeuvre with names that I, the author, cannot pronounce myself. Kalecgos made a brief toast to Zanze's return and the feast began. The Emperor, Empress, and Zanze all were drinking wine. Aslan had a glass as well but, being only 10, his wine was less stronger than the grown ups , plus the wine glass was barely full. Until he was a few years older, he would have to do with the extra glass of ice water on the side; left for him to drink when the wine glass was empty.

During the while, Anveena and Kalecgos were muttering to one another. Aslan looked toward his tutor, seeing if she was as curious of what the two were speaking of as he was. Zanze wasn't facing them and was focused primarily on eating the pig leg on her plate. The Prince tended back to finishing his plate full and tried not to ask his mother and father what they were speaking of.

"Aslan," Kalecgos' voice gently called. The Prince sat back in his chair and looked his father in the eye. Kalecgos went on speaking. '' Your mother and I have agreed that we are being too easygoing on you when it comes to you leaving the castle and being gone for many hours, with no one knowing where you are. You are still a young boy--."

"I can fend for myself father! You have said so at the dueling practices." Aslan interrupted. The Prince did not want to be deprived of his freedom to leave the castle at his desire. He did not want to be locked up like a pet, its face glued to the window sill wanting and wishing to break out and see the world outside of the glass pane.

The Emperor was surprisingly tolerant of the rude interruption, he simply shook his head while responding back to the defensive remark. "I know, my son. You are a good swordsman, but that is not good enough. There are other _things _out there more powerful than you, _things_ you cannot fend off with fancy sword tricks." The Emperor paused a moment seeing a sense of fright in the Prince's eyes. Aslan did not understand what these _things_ were. Why would they want to attack him? What has he ever done to be hunted down for? Aslan's curiosity got to him, he asked his father:

"What are these _things_?"

Anveena placed her hand on Kalecgos' arm, a silent sign for the Emperor hold his tongue. Zanze looked to be paying attention to the conversation and stepped in to join.

" Child," She said quietly. " There is no need for you to know what the things are, at least, not yet. Your father and mother have been doing there best for the past ten years to make sure nothing bad will happen to you. Now, it is time for you to do the same for yourself."

"Zanze speaks truth," Anveena chimed in. " We are not going to keep you locked in the castle forever, my son. Your father and I only wish for you to be at the castle a bit more often than you usually are and to inform a sentry or servant of your whereabouts. Do you understand?" The Prince nodded his head reluctantly. His mother cleared up his idea of being stuck in the castle but he still did not like the proposal.

" However," Kalecgos added. "You shall be at the castle longer now since Zanze has returned and plans to finish her lessons for this year. Those are the terms we ask of you, my boy."

" I agree with them, sir." Aslan said trying not to sound mad at these new rules. This did not make sense, why would they tell him there was something wanting to harm him and not tell what it was? The discussion ended on that note. Kalecgos turned to Anveena and whispered something to her. Aslan this time could hear what they were saying.

"Why did you silence me? Aslan should know of Dark!"

"That is Zanze's job! Besides, _his_ name and _his_ story is not a subject to speak of at the dinner table--or anywhere."

_Dark? _The Prince thought as he twirled his wine glass around, watching the red liquid spin around like a whirlpool. _What kind of a name is that? It does not sound menacing at all...it doesn't even sound like a name. How could something with such a dumb name be such a horrible threat? _The thoughts of what this 'Dark' could be surged through his mind during the rest of the dinner.

Dusk drifted off within a few hours and now the black cloak of night draped the sky. A young girl was sitting at the doors of the Royal Stables. This young girl was Lilly, waiting patiently in the gloom for her new friend to arrive. The moon's light was not bright this evening, her beautiful white face was concealed by thin black clouds, leaving the earth below in a murky grey light. She was not sure how long she had been sitting there, but it started to worry her that she will miss the trees---or that maybe her friend was not coming. Lilly would scan the area from time to time. The blackness that engulfed the surrounding region was starting to get to her. She kept thinking something was hiding in the blackness, trying to find a nice midnight snack. Suddenly, a horrific cry shattered the silence of night. Lilly was startled so badly she screamed and crawled away from the stables, only to find the mysterious cry was from a barn owl, perched on the door post.

"Dumb owl," she muttered to herself as she dusted off her dress. " Thinks it's so funny to scare someone like that."

"Lilly?" came a soft voice. She turned around seeing a orange orb and a dark figure approaching her.

"Yes? Who is that?" She asked with panic in her voice.

" Calm yourself will you!" It snapped, still in a hushed voice. " It's me!"

" Aslan? Oh thank goodness! I thought you weren't--." She cried. A sharp hush interrupted her.

" Quiet down, you'll wake the horses! What happened? I heard you scream."

" I-I," She didn't want to say what really startled her, she was afraid that he would make fun of her. The owl screeched again. She stiffened up and inched closer to the Prince.

" Is that what scared you?" He asked with a laugh.

" I did not know what it was!" She said irritably, thinking he was already teasing her. "It is dark out here."

" Well, you have light now," he said handing her the lantern. As Lilly reached out for the light, she glanced up at his face. It glowed orange from the bright flame of the lantern, his golden eyes were burning so brightly she could not look at them an longer. Embarrassedly, she took the lantern from him.

'' You ready?" he asked lingering uncomplainingly. Lilly straightened up and lead the way into the forest. She was thankful that Aslan was wise enough to bring a lamp, the forest was pitch black and filled with the noises of nocturnal creatures calling to one another. Aslan noticed Lilly stopped, she held her arm out, telling him not to move.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Did you hear that?" Lilly whispered to him. The animals' loud chattering had stopped, all was silent. Then there was an odd noise. Whatever was making it was far from the two; but it had to be enormous to make a sound travel that far. Suddenly, the forest was filled with the strange noises, wood creaking, twigs snapping, and loud thumps shaking the forest floor. Lilly turned to Aslan a joyous grin on her face.

"I told you! They are waking up!" she exclaimed. Aslan watched in disbelief as he witnessed a huge pine tree pull it's roots out from underneath itself, dirt spraying in all directions, and being to walk off.

" I can't believe it." The Prince gasped as he noticed all the trees surrounding him and Lilly had come to life.

"Look!" Lilly demanded pointing directly in front of her. A small tree approached them. In the light, the tree appeared to look like a woman, except that her skin was rough bark and leaves for hair. Extreme happiness was all over her pretty face. Then came her wild voice, it had an accent that sounded very strange to the two children and difficult to understand.

"Welcome little humans, have you come to join in the festival?"

Lilly nodded. Aslan stood there in silent support. The tree woman raised her arms up (thought they looked like regular branches) and let out a gay laugh. Though, from her type of speech it sounded more like a bird call.

"Oh good! The more the merrier! Come along, younglings!" Lilly and Aslan fell behind the tree-being and followed her through the forest amongst the huge tree men. Aslan, at one point, began to laugh. Lilly heard his soft chuckle and asked what he was laughing at. The Prince merely pointed to the tree woman. On her back, deeply embedded and crudely drawn, was the bulls eye he carved just that day.


	8. The Saced Clearing

**Authors Note: ****I would like to remind the readers that this is just a**** STORY****. ****It is not based on my beliefs in Christianity or Aslan****. The fanfic was just an idea I had that I wished to share with you. It is not meant to be taken seriously, this is not what **_**really**_** happened to Aslan. THIS IS A STORY. **

Sacred Clearing

Misty, silver beams peaked out from behind the dark clouds, the moon's smooth white face had finally pulled her mask of clouds off and lit the forest below her. In the woods, Lilly noticed the cold light shinning down, making everything much easier to see. She decided to leave the lantern behind, since there was no need for it's dim light anymore. The Tree Maiden led the two children into a small thicket filled with large thick-branched bushes, (a simple but bothersome task) and came out into a huge clearing at the heart of the forest. Aslan did not know this part of the woods and he didn't think many residents living on the isle did either. This must have been where the enchanted soil was, where all these trees and their ancestors were born from, a sacred spot kept secret from those who would use the powerful soil for evil affairs.

All around the two were tree people. Big pines, small yearlings, dryads and tree ladies buzzing with conversation like the party guests at Mohthelieum's festivals. Aslan studied each face carefully, every tree looked different one way or another, it was only a few hours ago that they would have all looked exactly the same standing next to one another. The Prince and Lilly's guide quickly rushed over to a group of dryads, leaving the guests standing awkwardly at the center of the clearing.

"What do we do now?" Aslan muttered to Lilly.

"Help me find Mr. Burr." She suggested.

"Is that his actual name?" Aslan asked skeptically.

"Well, he told me I could call him that." Lilly retorted scanning the area trying to find her tree friend. "Come, this way." She said taking the Prince by the hand and walking off to her left. Lilly was leading him to a huddle of tree men. They all looked like elders that lived in the village; except they had very long beards, which were made of their green leaves. The young girl stopped in front of one of the trees. He was the biggest one out of the group, his bark was the color of dirt and rough like--well, tree bark.

Lilly climbed up onto the leg of the gigantic tree, (which was basically braid of all his roots) calling out to it: " Mr. Burr! Do you remember me? I came like I promised." Mr. Burr's small old eyes looked down to the forest floor, seeing the tiny speck of white sitting on his lap.

"Ho! Ho! 'Ello there lassie! I would not forget who you are, yearling! Trees never forget remember?" The other tree men present murmured in agreement.

Lilly beckoned the Prince closer. "I brought a friend with me. His name is Aslan." The giant Burr leaned in and squinted his eyes, trying to get a good look at the child, standing silently in the grass. Mr. Burr let out a hearty laugh, like that of a giddy old man, and bowed his head at the Prince.

" Aye, it _is_ him brothers, " the Burr said to the gang of trees sitting around him. One of the trees, a maple who had rosy cheeks and was very plump, decided to raise his voice.

"I expected 'im to be a wee bits bigger. Why! 'E don't look no bigger than a dwarf."

" It is only because you all are so huge, and I am small in your eyes." Aslan retorted.

" True, that be very true." They all murmured to one another.

" Well don't just stand there yearling! Come on up, sit on my roots, you did not come all this way just to stand and stare did you?" The Burr picked the Prince off the ground. The old tree tried to set the child down on his leg, but instead he successfully dropped the Prince on the root, chest first.

" Sorry," Mr. Burr apologized. "These old eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be."

" I'm alright," He grunted sitting up, rubbing his abdomen. A hushed groan breaking his lips. " There is nothing to worry about."

Mr. Burr and his fellow companions spend the majority of the night talking about how life was when they were younger; referring to themselves as 'sprouts'. You may think that since the trees were dormant for most of the day that the stories would be putting the two children to sleep, that was not the case. They would speak of terrible hurricanes like a deadly battle, and a winter festival where they would all come together and shed their leaves, creating a mountain of dead foliage in the middle of the forest. Mr. Burr would frequently talk about the Emperor, Kalecgos, when he was younger and would journey through the forest with friends, a topic which Aslan put his entire focus on. As the night went on, the trees became more and more lively, while Aslan and Lilly were starting to get sleepier and sleepier.

" The younglings seem to be dozin' off." whispered a tree man to Mr. Burr. He looked down at the two humans on his lap. Lilly was sitting up with her eyes half open and the Prince had his head propped with his hand, bobbing in and out of sleep.

"Then we shall wake them up!" he exclaimed and as he said this, the huddles of tree beings began to come together and form a huge oval, the dance was about to begin. The loud screeches of the Dryads awoke the two children out of their daze. All the tree men, including Mr. Burr started to sing. Their voices were low like a drum beat. Tree women came out from all directions into the center with the dryads and began to sing as well, their voices much higher and sweeter than the course notes of the men. A dryad ran up the root of Mr. Burr, her face so beautiful and yet so wild, and reached her hands out to Lilly and Aslan.

"They want us to join!" Lilly exclaimed.

"Shall we then?" Aslan said with a smile, taking the Dryad's hand. They were lead them down to the center of the oval. The voices of the tree men began to sing at a faster pace, the jig below also speed up likewise. The dance was so wild and so different from any boring court dance at Mohthelieum. The dance was made up of pure glee and excitement. Since Aslan was the only male amongst the dancers, so he would be constantly changing dance partners, until he got to Lilly. The two children greeted each other with laughter, there was no real reason for their giddiness, it was all from this mad dance. They grabbed hold of each other's arm and began to spin until they fell to the floor, the forest spinning around them.

The hours of night past, the dance began to lose it's energy. One by one, trees began to stiffen up and turn back to the rigid, dormant form. The Prince and Lilly were left behind, in the middle of the clearing fast asleep. Not knowing that back at the castle, an urgent message came in near midnight. Graydon, Dark's apprentice, was somewhere on the island of Mohthelieum. Like any mother, Anveena nearly ran to her son's bedroom to make sure he was safe, sound asleep in his bed. A blood curdling shriek shot throughout the entire castle; waking every servant, lady and lord. Anveena was found by Kalecgos, hunched over grasping her stomach, crying intensely. He looked into the doorway of his son's room, finding that Aslan was not in there.

* * *

_Snap!_ The loud noise awoke the slumbering Prince like thunder would stir a light sleeper, with a violent spasm. Immediatley he glanced about the area. The trees were still now, the sky was starting to turn grey--a sign that dawn was coming.

"Oh no." Aslan muttered, quickly heaving himself up off the forest floor. There was no sign of Lilly, at first he was afraid she had left him there, and she was his only way out of the forest.

"Lilly!" he called out. No response. He called out multiple times until finally, a loud, sleepy groan came from behind a rock.

"Thank the Nameless Lord." He sighed walking over towards the rock. There she was, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and yawning like a sluggish cat. "We have to go, it's nearly dawn!" He said.

" Alright, alright!" She snapped crankily, probably upset that she was woken up so early. " Just wait a minute!"

_SNAP!_ There was the noise again. This time, much closer than before. Aslan tensed up, he had no weapon to defend himself, he could not flee that would only lead to him getting even more lost in the woods. Whomever it was, it had Aslan and Lilly cornered.

" What was that?" she whispered, panic overwhelming her voice.

" Quickly," The Prince murmured. " Lead us out of the forest." Lilly nodded and started to run northeast, back towards the stables, neither of them slacking their pace. The noise had not left them behind at Sacred Clearing, it kept following them, running along side them. But now the two could tell they were not being followed by _one_ thing but by a band of things, Aslan was not sure how many but it was enough to outnumber him and Lilly.

" Run faster Lilly!" He cried out in terror. "It's getting--OOF!" Whatever was chasing them lunged out from of the bushes, and tackled the Prince down to the forest floor. Aslan attempted to squirm free but he was pinned down.

" Sorry Your Majesty," it apologized pulling the Prince off the dirt ground and back on his feet. " But it is Kalecgos' order." The Prince opened his eyes seeing a emblem on the person's chest plate. A cross. All sides equal in length, the center circled and inside that circle were three white crystals lined up horizontally. The coat of arms for Mohthelieum! This was a soldier!

Despite how relieved Aslan was that it was a friend rather than a foe, he was now very apprehensive of the consequences to come. He knew Kalecgos was not going to take this lightly. (And the poor Prince did not even now about the

'unwelcome guest' yet, which would probably make the matter worse.)

" Browen!" called a deep voice. " We found this girl trying to escape too. Do you think we should take her to the Emperor?" Two men, one with a coarse red beard and then one that had his head shaved appeared from the shadows of the trees. In their arms, was the squirming and kicking Lilly.

" Let me go!" She kept screaming angrily, trying to wriggle out of their tight grasp.

"Unhand her," Aslan demanded to the two soldiers holding his friend captive. As ordered, they let go of the girl letting her plop on the floor with a loud _thud!_

" We're taking you both to the Emperor." said the soldier that tackled the Prince. " Kalecgos and Anveena will be greatly relieved to see you alive, My Prince."

Lilly's eyes opened wide. Turning her head to Aslan, she repeated the soldiers words. "My Prince?" The boy looked down at the forest floor, unresponsive to Lilly's question.

" I thought---." She began but then her sweet voice went quiet. The Prince could feel her gaze over him. He _really_ didn't lie to her, he just never mentioned that he was the heir to the Emperor's throne. But he still felt a pinch of guilt for not telling her in the first place.

" Let's go." said the first soldier. Aslan and Lilly were gently pushed forward to follow. The two children were silent, they did not once look at one another. At least, they did not _see_ the other looking.


	9. Seal of Protection

_I'm in so much trouble._ Aslan thought hopelessly.

The Sun was already up and shinning brightly by the time the soldiers, the Prince, and Lilly reached the castle. Watching anxiously, were the Emperor and Empress. Aslan was still too far away to see their faces but he had a good guess of what their expressions were. The party reached the gates to Mohthelieum faster than the Prince expected. But then again, when you're in trouble, your punishment seems to come too soon, does it not?

Anveena rushed up to the boy and held tightly on to her once missing offspring. " Your father and I were so worried! What were you thinking sneaking out like that!? Oh! What does it matter, you're safe!" Her voice was filled with nothing but joy and relief. Aslan did not expect his mother to be harsh with her words. Anveena never scolded her son, not one day. Her temper was all but a myth. Kalecgos was a different story. Aslan had heard his father's thunderous voice before, most of the time it was only used at council meetings and the Realm Gatherings. But Aslan did not doubt the look in his father's jade eyes, there was a dim fire burning in them-- ready to burst into flames at any moment.

" Who is this?" Kalecgos asked the red bearded soldier, referring to Lilly.

" We found her with the Prince, we decided to bring her too."

The Emperor looked at the girl, whom had never seen the Emperor or Empress, and this whole scene was quite overwhelming for her. "What is your name, daughter?"

"Lilly." she responded tersely. She seemed lost for words. " I-I am the gardener's daughter."

" Courtland's daughter," Anveena told Kalecgos. "I've seen them working in the gardens together." The Emperor nodded slowly, then turned his attention back to his militia.

"Then see to it that she gets home safely, and that Courtland Swanwhite knows what happened." The three soldiers bowed their heads in unison, and then lead the girl off towards the north coast, where the servant's quarters were located.

Aslan watched his friend walking off with the three soldiers. He hoped that she wasn't very mad about the situation, it was not like he meant for it to happen. Lilly told him that she helped her father in the gardens, maybe he be able to settle things later in the day. That is, if he was going to be allowed to go outside today.

Once the four were out of sight, things grew much more perturbed. Anveena was crouching beside the Prince, her hand gently rubbing his arm. And with his arms crossed, Kalecgos stood silently, which told Aslan that he was waiting for an explanation.

" I'm sorry," The Prince muttered miserably. " It's just that---Lilly wanted to show me something and you could only see it at night."

" What could be so important to see that you would leave for the entire night?" Anveena questioned, her face creased with emotion.

The Prince was silent. The Sacred Clearing was a secret only him and Lilly knew. And he promised not to tell anyone about it.

" I didn't expect to be gone the entire night," he began, trying to avoid answering the question. " I fell asleep and I didn't wake up until early this morning."

Now Kalecgos joined in the conversation. He was utterly calm, which made Aslan uneasy. " We spoke to you the other night about staying at the castle more often. What made you think we would accept this?"

" I said I was sorry." The Prince repeated.

" Son," Anveena said softly. " That does not change anything! Something could have happened to you or the girl. Do you not understand how badly you scared us?"

" I know, Mother," Aslan replied quietly. " But I cannot give you an excuse that won't be dissuaded."

" You could have not gone in the first place." Kalecgos retorted, his voice sharper now. " Your mother and I told you Dark was after you, did that not give you a motive to just stay here? This is extremely foolish of you! Your behavior is offensive to me and to this on your forehead ." Aslan made no sound as his father tapped the silver circlet. That tiny, simple crown was only worn by the heir to the Great Emperor's throne, and Aslan had insulted it by disobeying his father, the Emperor.

The boy simply did what most children did after being yelled at by a parent. He began to carefully examine his muddy black boots, avoiding his father's and mother's stern eyes.

As Kalecgos placed his hand on his forehead, he let out a long exhale. Aslan was being scolded like this only because of the terrible scare at midnight. If that never had occurred, The Emperor probably would not be so worked up over this. Besides, the poor child did not know about Graydon. If he did, maybe then he would have thought twice about going out in the middle of the night. Kalecgos could not chastise his child of what he did not know, and judging by the expression on the ten-year-old's face, he had learned his lesson.

" Are you tired, son?" Kalecgos asked thoughtfully, kneeling down to the height of the Prince.

The boy looked startled at first. It was such a drastic change in the dispute, he was not sure if his father was being serious or not.

Eventually, with a shrug of his shoulders, he replied with a blunt: "Yes."

" Let's take you to your room then. Come," Kalecgos said taking his son's hand. Anveena stayed behind at the gates, letting some distance separate her from the other two. Only when they were out of sight, did she head back to the Master Bedroom for some much needed rest.

All the while Kalecgos was talking to Aslan, the matter was not one to get into much detail. The Emperor merely explained what happened in the middle of the night, and how Aslan must now follow the rule about staying at the castle regularly. The conversation ended timely, they reached the door to the Prince's bedroom when Kalecgos ended his final sentence.

" I truly am sorry, father." Aslan said meaningfully.

" I know, I know," Kalecgos said gently. " Hopefully next time you will be more wise with your decisions?"

" Yes sir," was the response.

" That's my boy," Kalecgos laughed patting the blonde hair on top of Aslan's head. Unexpectedly, the Emperor looked about the long hallway. Once he made sure the coast was clear he spoke softly into the boy's ear.

" So, did you enjoy the tree's festival?" Aslan stared at his father with wide eyes. Kalecgos could not help but smile.

" How did you know about it?" came the Prince's bewildered voice.

" My son!" His father said in a teasing reproach. " I am the Great-Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea, I need to know those sorts of things. Otherwise, I think I would be a rather dreadful Emperor."

" So you've seen them too?" Aslan said with a smile.

" Many times," Kalecgos answered. " I believe Mr. Burr is still alive is he not?"

"Yes! He is!" Aslan exclaimed. The Prince was so overjoyed that his father knew about the trees like he did. It was a good thing too, because it would be awful not to tell anyone about the grand celebration. " But, is Mr. Burr his real name?" Aslan asked curiously.

" Well," Kalecgos said undecidedly. " It's probably a name of their language, which tend to be rather long and confusing names. But, he told me I could call him that." Aslan could not help but smile, for he had heard the same words. " But I am getting off subject. Now, besides the fact you are to stay at the castle more regularly; as a punishment, for the next two days the castle grounds is where you will stay."

" What about Morgan?"

" I will see to it that she's fed and let out in the pasture. Do not worry about her." Another few moments of silence passed until Kalecgos started up again. " There is something I wish to give you."

Aslan watched as his father pulled out a tiny leather purse with a rawhide strap holding it closed. The Emperor undid the knot in the strap, and out slid a necklace into his large palm.

The necklace's chain was that of pure gold, and shined magnificently in the sunlight. And only one simple adornment was attached to the long chain. A small pendant. The stone was tiger eye, perfectly polished into a circle, and painted on with the utmost accuracy was a cross just like the coat of arms for Mohthelieum. However, around the outer edge of the stone was small writing, too little for even Aslan's sharp eyes to read.

" It is the seal of protection," The Emperor stated. " The writing is based off the script from the Deep Magic from the Dawn of time."

" What does it say?" Aslan asked squinting his eyes trying to read the tiny marks and scribbles.

" It is a written enchantment that protects its possessor from the evil of the Dark Magic. No Black Magician, not even the evil Serpent himself can come close to you. As long as you wear it, you are safe from Dark." The Prince took the necklace from his father's hand and pulled it over his head, letting the chain hang off his neck. The small stone dangled above Aslan's Mark of Deep, which was branded over where his beating heart would be.

All harvesters of magic have marks like this. But, depending on the type of magic the sign may be different, and so might be its location. Commonly, these symbols were positioned either on the limbs, palm, chest, or back. To any normal being it would simply look like a tattoo, but to a wizard or harvestess this was their magic source, this was their origin to life. It is a mark they are born with and can either stay with them until the day they die or fade away, if the magic being strays and turns into a plain, dumb being like many of the residents on Earth.

" Thank you, Father, I will take very good care of it. I promise I will never take it off!" Aslan declared.

" Your word is good, I do not doubt you, my son. Now, go rest, Zanze will be expecting you to be energetic and equipped to learn about the long, confusing history of Mohthelieum and the Tri-Magi."

With a nod of his head, the Prince walked into his bedroom. Once the door shut, Kalecgos turned and strolled down the hall, until he too vanished from sight.

There only be one person left in the hall. Someone Aslan did not notice, but Kalecgos did. A small ball of matted brown fur huddled in a small crevice in one of the white walls. A rat. It was listening the whole time. It saw the necklace and knows its great power. This was actually the Emperor's intention for the unwelcome eavesdropper to hear the conversation, he wanted the rat to witness it. Aslan was now untouchable, Dark was unable to lay a hand on the heir to the throne.

If you have not guessed yet, the answer is Yes. This rat was Graydon. A clever transformation, but not sly enough for the Mighty Emperor not to notice. Now the Black Magician had to return to his master and tell him the bad news. And so he did.

In a flash of black smoke, Graydon was back at the shadowy lair of Dark. His cloaked master was sitting in a gothic throne made of silver. The back of the chair was crafted to look like the head of a striking snake, which it frighteningly resembled quite well.

" My Lord," Graydon extolled gravely. " I have failed you. Emperor Kalecgos has given the child the Seal of Protection. The brat is untouchable now. Forgive me sire, for not carrying out your command! I would have destroyed that wretched boy if----." Dark's ugly, gnarled hand rose up and silenced Graydon.

" Silence your excuses," Dark hissed. " I do not care to hear what you _would_ have done, for it means nothing to me.''

" You do not sound upset. How could you not be? We cannot get anywhere near the Prince! What are we to do!?" A soft chuckle came from Dark's caped figure. As he rose from his seat, he began to pace.

" Kalecgos thinks I am that stupid to believe that a rock with pretty little words on them mean Aslan is free from my wrath. He is very wrong. My loyal apprentice, do you remember Lillith?"

" Your most trusted follower?" Graydon responded.

" Yes, not long after the Prince was born did she bear a child to a king apart of the Council of Realms. A girl. Ironically, a princess. She is our key Graydon! This child is our key to obliterate Aslan. The girl is of the Ancient Magic, she is a fool. Soon enough, she will be so prone to deception, it will be easy enough to take control of her. I will make her strong and fearless. All will fear her one day." Then he repeated it again, in such a tone it would make the hair on the back of your neck raise.

"All will fear her!"


	10. Matters That Need to Be Explained

Zanze had decided to use the Western Gardens as her classroom for today. Early summer brought the invading armies of the flower blossoms to the trimmed, green hedges. Trees were ripe with fruit as well were the trimmed bushes. Many visitors to Mohthelieum are told about how large and beautiful the Western Gardens were. 'Any plant you can imagine, it grows in that garden!' was one rumor spread by the castle's guests, which was pretty close to true. Only the rarest of the rare, such as the fire flower, would not grow in the rich soil.

Though, the center piece of the garden was found in the heart of the maze of colorful plants. An extravagant fountain, that had but only a small Acacia tree in it's view. The figure of the fountain was standing upon a short, wide column in the middle of the limpid water. It was a lion. Its head was held high as his enormous, sharp teeth bared in a unheard roar, as water shot out of his great mouth. A beautiful mane encircled its huge neck and upper chest, which was puffed out, like the proud creature it was. Its forelegs were straight and tall while his flanks were slightly bent, making a elegant arc in his back. And finally the lion's tail was low, the tuft of hair on his tail's tip barley touched the water. It was made with such detail, that when the Prince was little, he actually thought it was a real lion, taking a bath in the water. Nowadays, he'd laughed at that silliness. This was the spot Zanze chose to have lessons today, which made Aslan happy. It was one of the sunniest spots in the garden and it was an open space. No bushes or trees blocked his view, with any luck he would be able to see Lilly walking along with Courtland if they came by.

" You know your father ordered that fountain to be made when you were born?" Zanze told the Prince.

" Yes," Aslan answered gazing up at the gigantic lion. "He told me when I was little."

"Then you know what the lion resembles then?" Zanze asked. It was a tendency of hers to speak in inquiry, and also to give long detailed answers to questions. A habit many teachers tend to have.

"Father saw a lion on the beach the moment of my birth. That is why he named me Aslan, which means 'mighty lion'."

"Indeed you are," Zanze remarked gently, sitting in the soft green grass. "Now, let us see what you remember from last winter's studies." Aslan sat in the grass across from Zanze, still facing her, waiting for her to quiz him.

Zanze was not the kind of teacher who enjoyed teaching inside a small room with old, archaic books that tend to be wider than your head. She taught by lecture. 'Where I come from,' Zanze would tell her pupil. 'We do not have books to teach us, but we have our words. Language is one of the most precious gifts the Nameless Emperor has given us. Books only tell you _what_ happened in history. People tell _how_ it happened. That is the difference, you get so much more out of speech than those musty old books in your Father's library.'

"Who created the Universe?" She asked.

"The Nameless Emperor." was the hasty response.

"And who is the Nameless Emperor?"

"The Nameless Emperor was the first Emperor. Whom created Earth, Mohthelieum, and all other realms and worlds known.'

"Tell me the story of Adam and Eve." Zanze said.

"The Nameless Emperor created both a man and woman to rule these new universes. However, they failed a test the Nameless Emperor gave them and were deprived of their heavenly lifestyle. They were sent away from his Grand Home to live on Earth. And so began the long line of Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. That is what humans that cannot harvest magic are called." His tutor smiled and nodded her head.

"Very good," she praised. "You remember well. Then I guess we can begin today's lesson. You heard of Jesu, the Second Emperor correct?"

"Zanze?" Aslan asked quietly. She looked up at him, seeing worry in his tawny eyes.

"What is wrong, My Prince?" She asked softly.

"Father told me that you would tell me who Dark is," Aslan began. "Who is he? And why is he after me? What have I done to him?"

"You have done nothing wrong, child!" Zanze said placing her hand under his chin, raising his head back to her eye level. "It's a matter that might be difficult for you to understand."

"Zanze, please?" Aslan begged. " I will surely drive myself mad if I don't find out."

The tutor slowly blinked her eyes. "You are right," She replied. "You of all people should be given the right to know who he is. Do you know the Tri-Magi?"

"Yes," Aslan answered. "The three kinds of magic. Deep, Ancient, and Dark."

"Do you know how they came about?" Zanze asked. Aslan shook his head.

"Then we shall start there," the tutor began. "When the Nameless Emperor sent Adam and Eve to Earth, he began to doubt whether or not the race would thrive and accept their job to protect Creation. So, he created three more humans. Two men and one woman, brothers and a sister. Their names are lost, thus we call them by the kind of magic they created. Deep, the eldest brother. Ancient, the middle child and sister. And then Dark, the youngest of the three."

Zanze paused for moment, waiting for a question to arise. But Aslan was silent and told her to go on.

"The Nameless Emperor gave the siblings a task to protect the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve in the many years to come. The Tri-Magi were ordered to produce powers for the new race of humans---Harvesters. Deep's magic was powerful and just, and is now the magic of The Great Emperor's. The Ancient Magic was simple and lenient. Also, those whom harvest this kind of magic tend to be considered traitors, because they are easily fooled into taking sides that they would not originally take part in if they were more self-reliant. Usually, only Talking Beasts and the mythical creatures posses the Ancient Magic. It is considered rare for humans to posses the ancient power. And then there is Dark. The deserter of the Nameless Emperor."

"What did he do?" Aslan asked. Zanze continued with the story.

"Dark was tricked by the Lord of Hell. Dark was promised to be a god. So powerful that the Nameless Emperor would bow before him, and Dark believed every word. Under the Lord of Hell's command, the wretched creature gave birth to a terrible magic, full of nothing but evil and hate. The Nameless Emperor immediatley refused the powers, knowing that that kind of magic would destroy not protect. Dark flew into a mad rage and killed both Deep and Ancient in cold blood."

"Why would he kill his own siblings?" Aslan asked shocked at such an act.

"The Serpent was a monster from birth, his heart was filled with nothing but evil and hate. That was why the Lord of Hell could easily persuade him to kill the competition."

"What did the Nameless Emperor do?"

"The Nameless Emperor punished Dark by disfiguring him. Making him to have the appearance of a snake, that is why Dark is referred as 'The Serpent'. The evil powers Dark had created were destroyed and the Serpent was sent to spend eternity with The Lord of Hell."

"But I don't understand," Aslan said when Zanze finally finished the story. "What does this have to do with me?"

" My Prince, you know Jesu correct?" Zanze asked.

" Of course, the Second Emperor. He delivered the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve from their evil ways by sacrificing himself."

Zanze nodded in agreement. "But, Dark was the cause of the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve's evilness. The Nameless Emperor may have destroyed the magic from the race of Harvesters. (Whom were now thriving and living peacefully.) But he did not deprive Dark of how to resurrect the evil power again."

"He possessed the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve with Dark Magic didn't he?" Aslan answered slowly. Again, Zanze nodded.

"But Jesu led a rebellion against the Dark Magic. He and his followers tried to make the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve good again by reminding them of their Lord's kindness, and in the end he gave his life up to save all from the fate of Dark Magic. For a long while, Dark was not heard from since.

"Earth was coping well for a long while, until the Lord of Hell allowed Dark to leave the damned land and start to spread the evil magic again. This time, to the Harvesters lands. He grew a huge army, many wars and much blood was spilled trying to hold off the Evil. But then, at Mohthelieum, the sacred land which was only used for Realm Gatherings became the birthplace to a baby boy...of whom was to save us from the Evil of Dark. A second Jesu. Destined to kill Dark and rid the universe of him once and for all."

"Would I know him?" The Prince asked.

The irony of his question made Zanze smile. Her dark hands reached out for the Prince's own hands. Now came the moment of truth. The time when the prophesied savior would accept his fate, just as Emperor Jesu accepted his. There is a long journey ahead of the Heir, one that does not accompany a compass. He will have to try and figure out himself which way is North.

The tutor looked Aslan straight in the eye. Pride surging through her soft tone. "Much better than you think." was her response.

* * *

"Lilly," said Cortland breathlessly. " Blast that girl! Where has she gone off to? Lillian!" The young girl came running from behind a hedge.

"Sorry," She said handing him a basket full of ugly green leaves and sticky yellow stalks. " I was taking care of the weeds." The older man blinked slowly as a weak smile bent his thin lips.

"Thank you, my dear." He sighed, taking the wicker basket from her hands. " But please, stay by me. I'm still figuring what I am to do with you about last night."

"Papa, I was in no danger." Lilly said compellingly.

"It does not matter, dear girl do you realize that three of Emperor Kalecgos' militia had to leave their post to bring you back to me? It's incredibly embarrassing for them and for me. Their job is to the Emperor not the workers of the castle."

"Kalecgos is the one that told them to bring me back!" Lilly retorted defensively. " Besides, I was not alone. The Prince was with me too."

Cortland looked as if Dark had manifested himself and was standing right in front of him. " The _Prince_?"

"Yes," Lilly said pompously. " He came along with me. We saw the festival together."

"Stay away from him, daughter." Cortland said in a serious voice.

"Why?" She asked angrily. Lilly did not understand why her father did not find the whole thing exciting. She personally knew the Prince! That would excite any other peasant on the isle, why not him?

"You are a _worker_ here at Mohthelieum, _he_ is the heir to the Great Emperor's throne. Royalty never befriends their peasants let alone _betroths_ them." Courtland only mentioned 'betroths' for he could hear the tone is Lilly's voice. She was not only proud that she actually talked to the Prince, but there was that underlying feeling that worried Courtland so. Even if Lilly did not realize the emotion was in her voice.

"Honestly Papa," Lilly said with a stamp of her foot. " It is not like I am going to wed him! I think he wants to be my friend, and I think we will stay friends no matter what you say!"

Cortland shook his head sadly. "I hope you are right, Lilly. I hope you are right." And then he went back to trimming one of the bushes.

"Since you are taking a licking to picking weeds, can you go and see if the flower patches around the fountain are rid of those annoying vermin." He ordered, still very focused on his work.

Lilly frowned at first. That was all she was good for, picking weeds. At least with the Prince did she feel a tad more important that some pest picker. With a sad sigh, she picked up the basket again. "Yes, father." and off she went to the grand fountain.

Since the girl and her father worked in the gardens, obviously enough she found the fountain with absolutely no trouble at all. Whereas visitors from other realms would get lost continually among the tall hedges of this maze of a garden. It was actually amusing to her when the Emperor or Empress would have to come and find their lost guests and lead them out. She recalled one time when a tall light blonde-haired man took a stroll through and was later found huddled on a stone bench whimpering like a lost dog. _And they call those people 'royal',_ she thought with a giggle. _Really, can't they use their magic to get themselves out? I did that my first time I got lost in here. _

As she approached the magnificent fountain, she decided to take in the beautiful summer day. The sun was delightfully hot and the cool sea breeze helped make the temperature not so unbearable. The flowers were all in full bloom and the Prince was outside with another woman she did not know.

Her eyes gaped in terror as the basket fell from her hands. _What is HE doing here?! _she thought in anxiety, crouching behind the short stone wall of the fountain. _Oh Nameless Lord! If he sees me-I-I...I have no idea what I will do! _

" Who is over there?" it was a female's voice, it must have came from the dark woman sitting with the Prince.

"No one!" was Lilly's immediate response. She heard soft giggling, they must think her a complete fool for such an unintelligent answer.

"Well, 'No One'," that was the Prince's voice. " Do you mind coming out so we can see you? Or do you prefer to remain visibly unnoticed?"

Lilly felt her cheeks getting hot. This was so embarrassing! Unfortunately, she could not answer back for the Prince was already kneeling in front of her. His amber eyes beaming happily.

" I did not hear you come up," Lilly said in astonishment. How did he reach her so quickly?

" Why are you hiding from me?" He asked.

"I am not hiding!" Lilly denied. "I was picking weeds."

"I believe you," Aslan smiled rising up to his feet. Being a gentleman, he offered her his hand and she rose herself up as well.

The woman was sitting on the ledge of the fountain looking at the two suspiciously and with some other kind of look that Lilly could not name.

" Who is the 'No One', Aslan?" Zanze asked.

" Her name is Lilly, Lilly Swanwhite." the Prince said with a laugh. Zanze looked at Lilly with big eyes as if she recognized the little girl from a previous meeting, which was not the case.

"A friend then?" Zanze said. Aslan nodded and then added to Lilly.

"This is Zanze, my tutor." Both women bowed their head to each other.

"I must be off, my Prince," Zanze said rising from her sitting posture. "We will continue lessons tomorrow. It seems someone is in need of my attention at the moment. Farewell, Lilly Swanwhite." Lilly also gave her farewell back.

She could see a little ways off was the Emperor and the Empress.. The Emperor, had nothing but sheer joy in his eyes as he sweetly wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulders. The Empress was gently stroking her stomach with a stately grin breaking her lips. Aslan was not looking that way, so he could not make assumptions of why Zanze had to leave. But, Lilly could not help herself to making her own hunches.

**A/N: Sorry if the chapter was a bit long. I had to finish this part up in one chapter so I can move on later in Aslan's life. I hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to review!! **


	11. Duels and Missions

"Lilly! Lilly!" cried a high pitched voice. Running through the Gardens of Mohthelieum was a very young boy around the age of seven. He had dark brown hair of his Father's along with many noticeable facial features, quiet the opposite of his older brother who was handsome no doubt but took on the look of his mother.

This energized little toddler was that of Kalecgos and Anveena. Not too long after we left Aslan at the age of ten, did the announcement of Empress Anveena giving birth to a healthy baby boy appear. Stelan II was the youth's name, taken after his deceased grandfather on his mother's side.

Stelan ran until he got to the West Gardens. There he finally found the young woman he was looking for, who was examining a withering bush. With great urgency, the toddler ran up to the beautiful maiden and pulled on the skirt of her sapphire blue dress.

"Lilly, come quickly!" Stelan panted. The girl looked down at the exhausted child, and let out a harmless giggle.

"You look like you ran from Barrenport all the way back here! What is your hurry, Stel? I'm trying to prepare the bushes for the upcoming frost."

"Aslan's up," Stelan said taking her hand. "The duel has already started! Come on, we have to hurry otherwise we'll miss him!"

"Miss him what? Winning?" Lilly said, unenthusiastic about the whole matter.

"Come on!" Stelan whined. " You girls are no fun! How can you not like watching duels?"

"Alright, alright!" Lilly sighed, silencing the boy. "Come with me, I know a good spot where we can watch from. Is he dueling by the fountain?"

"That's where he said it would be. Sir Gills-Gilfs- I can't say it." Stelan said with defeat in his voice.

"Sir Gilsdorf?" Lilly smiled.

"Yea! That's him. Hurry, let's go see!" Stelan was going at a mad sprint down the pathway with Lilly jogging behind. When the time came Lilly pulled the toddler aside and showed him her secret spot for watching the duels.

At the bottom of one of the tall hedges was a hole that the thin branches formed. It was large enough for both Lilly's and Stelan's head to fit side by side and it had a pretty good view into the next span of garden. Both the toddler and her laid down on the grass and looked through the gap. The fountain was not in their view, but the dueling field was in perfect sight. There was a makeshift pavilion where the Lords of the squires and then the Emperor and Empress themselves would sit and watch the swordfights. This year there were very few squires that made it this far in training. Only four actually, including the Prince. Today, he was facing one of his fellow squires. In excitement, Stelan whipped his arm out, pointing at two men standing exactly five feet away from each other.

"There he is! He's facing Charon! Oh this is going to be good. Brother always wins his fights, I've never seen him lose once! Not once Lilly!" nothing but sincere pride was in Stelan's voice.

" I've never seen him lose one either, Stelan." Lilly added considerately. "But be quiet. They're starting."

The two boys wore thin chain mail under their thick tunics, along with dense leather gauntlets. Aslan unsheathed his long sword. The blade and guard made of steel, with a polished wooden grip, and then a golden pommel formed to look like the bust of a lion.

His opponent unsheathed his sword as well. The squire's hair was that of the darkest piece of coal, and eyes of a beautiful yet mystifying frosty blue. His body shape was fairly similar to the Prince's, strong and thin, a very equal match no doubt.

Lilly watched intently, Aslan happened to be very good friends with his challenger, and she grew worried that they would break the boundary of friendship so they could feast on the fruits of victory. However, the Knight training these advanced squires as mentioned earlier: Sir Gilsdorf, did not allow blood spilt in these duels. If there was any injuries they would only be small cuts or possible bruising. Although, that did not mean that once or twice someone did receive a serious wound and nearly died in the process. This was advanced as the training got, duels were taken seriously by their squires. Each had a dream, and that was to win their spurs, to become a knight.

"There heading towards the middle." Stelan muttered in excitement. Lilly said nothing and kept her eyes on the Prince and Charon.

The two squires stood straight in front of each other. Liquid gold staring into a frozen ocean. Simultaneously, the two rose their swords to their face, the blade cutting them in half.

"On the count!" came a hoarse, loud voice.

"Where were we supposed to meet Tomas and Xavier?" Charon whispered.

"_One_!"

"You _would_ ask a question like that now." Aslan muttered with a grin.

"_Two_!"

"It will bother me the entire duel if I don't find out. And I do not want to be sidetracked, otherwise I cannot defeat you."

"You won't defeat me. It was by the creek near the forest."

"Begin!"

Both swords shifted sideways, catching one another. Charon fell back, and repositioned himself. Aslan held the sharp blade up, waiting for his opponent's next move. One step, a second, then a third. Charon swung the sword forward, a battle cry piercing the anticipating silence. The Prince collided his own sword with the swing, stopping it an inch from his neck.

Aslan pulled to the left, making Charon unbalanced--now was the time to attack. A sudden jab cut Charon's tunic, but the cloth was thick enough that the sword did not pierce into his flesh.

The coal-haired squire was then bombarded with many rapid swings and lunges, all of which he skillfully blocked or evaded.

"Charon _has_ gotten better," Lilly muttered impressed at the squire's proficiency.

"That won't matter!" Stelan said gaily. "Aslan will still beat him." Such satisfaction and support did the toddler give to his older brother!

"Just don't jinx it Stel." Lilly laughed.

"What's 'jinx' mean?" the confused child asked.

"Shh! Watch!"

It was Charon's turn. He spun the sword around, swinging low this time at the Prince's feet. Aslan jumped up, the blade flying underneath him.

Angry the move did not work, the squire snarled angrily, like a blood thirsty animal. The Prince took no notice to the malicious noise and thrust his sword forward at his opponent's chest. Charon saw it coming. The screech of colliding metal came, and then he put all his strength into brining Aslan's sword to the ground. The plan worked, the Prince was sidetracked for a just mere second---Charon's chance to strike. With his blade still down, he pulled the sword up, making the butt of the hilt smash into Aslan's mouth. A shocked gasp came from the pavilion as the Prince staggered back his hand pressed against his jaw, which was bleeding.

Lilly covered her mouth in alarm, watching Charon raise his sword above his head ready for the final blow. He was going to win.

"I can't watch!" Stelan cried covering his eyes, he did not want to witness his brother losing for the first time.

_Cling!_

The sound broke through the uneasy air with an eerie calmness. There was silence. Stelan uncovered his eyes, tempted to see who came out victorious. The child noticed Lilly's face, twisted in stunned relief. He looked out of the hole again, seeing what had happened.

Charon stood above his hunched over opponent, his icy eyes filled with confusion and astonishment. The Prince had blocked the winning strike. The two blades glistened in the cold sunlight. The whole moment seemed to be frozen in time, no one moved, no one spoke, not even a breath was exhaled.

Slowly, the Prince rose to his upright posture and them removed his large hand from his face. The sword's pommel scraped against Aslan's lower lip, leaving a small, deep gash on his soft pink lip. He smiled at his opponent, his white teeth were stained with red.

"Nice try," Aslan said triumphantly. Charon only stood there, dumbfounded. The Prince turned his head away from the pavilion to spit, which was a disgusting mix of saliva and blood.

The coal-haired squire finally awoke from his state of disbelief, and swiped the blade again. Aslan easily blocked it. There were a few more rounds of numerous blocks and swings which made the duel all the more apprehensive. Charon finally had enough, he collided his sword with Aslan's attack and then swung the tangled blades in a rotary motion, but the Prince wasn't going to let his opponent take him down that easily.

"They're doing the death spin!" Stelan exclaimed, his hand clasped tight with exhilaration.

"'Death Spin'?" Lilly repeated.

"That's what I call it." Stelan said quickly, watching intently at what was going to happen next.

The 'Death Spin' as Stelan identified it lasted only a few more seconds. Only when the swords reached the peak of the rotation, did the spin stop and the pushing began. The squires were forehead to forehead, shoving against one another, trying to knock the other down to the ground. The Prince thought quickly, planning the final blow.

With Charon occupied by his objective of trying to get his opponent unbalanced, the Prince surprised the squire with an unexpected knee to the gut. Now with the wind knocked out of him, Charon became dazed and unfocused and dropped his sword as he hit the ground. Wasting no time, Aslan scrambled for the sword.

When Charon regained his focus, he found himself lying on the muddy ground. The Prince stood above him, faintly painting with a smile on his face,. Charon looked down, the tip of his own sword was pointed at his throat. It was over. The duel was won.

Cheers and applause came from the pavilion as well from the hedge across the way. Aslan ignored it all. He reached his hand out for his friend who accepted it without protest.

"I was pretty close, you must admit that." Charon remarked. The Prince smile, handing the squire's sword back to him.

"Indeed you were," He said. "My lip feels like it has puffed-up to the size of a melon."

"Only because it has." Charon laughed walking off the field, side by side with the Prince. The two boys were making their way to the fountain, where Aslan had left the vile of fire flower juice carefully wrapped in a scarlet handkerchief.

" Not going to show off your battle scar, Aslan?" Charon asked, taking a handful off water from the fountain and washing his hot, sweaty face.

"I'd rather not," the Prince replied, pulling off the cordial stopper. " My lip will look like this for days, and it probably would get infected."

"Wimp," Charon muttered, splashing another handful into his face. Aslan responded to the presumed silent remark by pushing his unsuspecting friend into the pool.

Charon was not too happy about being shoved into a deep fountain filled with the ice water of winter, and decided to share some colorful language with the Prince of how much he disliked it. Aslan could only respond with hysterical laughter.

"Brother!" exclaimed the high pitched voice of Stelan, running up to the Prince.

"Stel," he called back as the little toddler took hold of one of his legs.

"I thought you were going to lose for a second there! Oh, but I knew you wouldn't lose, you never _ever_ lose!"

"Thanks for all the compliments Stelan." Charon said in a teasing bitterness, who for some reason was still in the fountain.

"Oh, sorry Charon! You fought well too!"

"You _both_ fought well," it was Lilly's voice who so sweetly chimed in on the conversation.

The young woman walked up the Prince and hugged her congratulations. Over the passed seven years they had grown very close, they were undoubtedly best friends. Nothing more than friends, though some of the squires took joy in teasing the Prince about Lilly. He rarely took any heed of it, Lilly however at times would get red and be as silent as a rock when she heard some of the jokes.

"What happened to you Charon?" she asked seeing the dark haired squire sitting in the frigid water.

"Ask your _boyfriend_." the soaked squire muttered splashing some water at the Prince.

"Don't listen to him 'Lil." Aslan said with a smirk. That was his nickname for her. 'Lil. "He's just upset that he's going to have to do all of the squires' laundry because he's soiled his own. Sir Gilsdorf's rules."

Charon stepped out of the fountain, surprisingly not shivering nor chattering his teeth.

"I'll meet you at the creek at noon, Aslan. Tomas and Xavier will want to hear all about this. Hey, Lilly, why don't you join us? I bet _someone_ will enjoy your company." Charon said as he walked off toward the field again.

"Must he always do that?" Lilly asked with a tint of annoyance.

"He's just mad." Aslan said with a shrug of his shoulders. "You know him just as well as I, he only gets bitter when he's in a bad mood. He knows we're only friends. Wait, where's Stelan? It's been awfully quite the past few minutes."

"He's over by Kalecgos and Anveena." Lilly answered looking toward the pavilion.

"Come, I want to show you the Dining Hall, it is all set up for the Christmas Party. You won't believe how amazing it looks!" Aslan intrigued tilting his head to the castle.

"I suppose I can. I hope that frost comes as Zanze said, I swear I am about to go insane with all of the tending I have to do for all of these blasted plants!" Lilly heard a soft chuckle from the Prince as he led her off back to the white castle.

* * *

The plans to meet the other two squires were cancelled that day due to a spur of the moment meeting Sir Gilsdorf decided to have. The knights-in-training were told to meet in the Throne Room. The Prince sat himself with Xavier and Tomas, the other two squires in the advanced group. Charon mentally separated himself from the three, he still seemed upset about having to clean the musty, pit stained training tunics for today. If he kept the attitude up, Sir Gilsdorf would not have any of it.

"We heard you won Aslan." Tomas said softly, not trying to offend Charon by talking about it.

"It is nothing to fuss over, Tomas," The Prince muttered with little emotion in his voice, actually sounding a bit tired.

"Do any of you know why Sir Gilsdorf called this meeting?" Charon asked, finally entering the discussion.

"I heard it is a mission for us." Xavier said with excitement. "I hope we get a challenging task! Maybe the Emperor has found a hidden encampment of Dark's soldiers, and he wants to send us to dispose of them! What a quest that would be, killing those evil and spiteful brutes will give me such a rush!"

"Honestly whatever happened to killing a dragon?" Tomas said, sounding nervous of what Xavier was talking about. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

"You're such a timid thing Tomas!" Xavier exclaimed. "They would not give us an easy assignment! We are the best knights-in-training Moht has to offer! We have to be put to the test to become knights, you think killing a fire breathing lizard will give us knighthood? I think not!"

"Boys!" came a hoarse, booming voice from the left doorway. There was Sir Gilsdorf and Emperor Kalecgos walking in together. The four squires stood up and were silent as the Great Emperor sat in his throne and his knight stood beside him.

"Squires," Kalecgos began. "Sir Gilsdorf and I have come to the agreement that it is time for you to receive your spurs. All of you, along with some of the more experienced knights will set out on a journey that was agreed to by your Knight and myself." The boys all looked at each other with happy and excited glances and smiles.

"What is our task, Great Emperor? If you do not mind my asking." Tomas inquired shyly. Kalecgos smiled and answered the squire.

"You four are to go and capture the White Stag and bring it back to Mohthelieum. There are some important questions we need to ask of it."

Xavier's mouth dropped in disappointment. Tomas' face was distorted with confusion, as well as the Prince's. Charon looked as if he was going to burst into flames he was so angry.

"That is our task!?" Charon asked, a calm anger in his voice. "We are to go and hunt a stag and bring it back here? That is a task for beginning trainees! You cannot be serious!"

"Silence yourself!" Sir Gilsdorf snapped harshly. "How dare you question the Emperor's motives in such an offensive way?! I should expel you from this mission, for it seems you have not learned the basics of the code of chivalry!" The dark haired squire lowered his head and remained silent for the rest of the meeting.

"Thank you, Gilsdorf," the Emperor said calmly. "Do you all understand the task, or must I explain further?"

Aslan rose his voice. "I do not understand, why a stag? What does a deer have to do with anything, what aid can it give us?"

"That is where you are wrong, young one." Kalecgos replied. "It is not just any stag. It is _the_ White Stag. An incredibly fast creature that if caught, can grant wishes...or so the myth goes. No one has ever caught the mischievous beast, for it enjoys manipulating its hunters into not trying to capture it, or it drives them mad by the great spans of distance it runs. It is your task to capture the White Stag and bring it to the castle. Only then, can you become knights."

"How can we catch something that has never been caught before?" Xavier asked.

"How can one understand victory without failure?" Kalecgos answered back, now rising out of his throne and pacing back and forth.

"Yes, there are very few of you. The smallest group of squires I've seen for a very long time. The four of you are the best we have, the most experienced and the most talented. We ask such a task of you because we know that you all can accomplish it. As long as you all work together and put into practice what you have learned from your many years of training you will succeed. Do the four of you agree?"

Their heads nodded, and Kalecgos smiled.

"Good, your quest sets out the day after the Christmas Formal."

"Why not sooner?" Aslan asked and then added. "My Emperor."

"I know you are all itching to begin the mission, but I have an important guest who wishes to give all of you something before you embark. And he can only make it to the Winter Formal and no other day." The Emperor paused for a slight moment as the squires looked at each other wondering who the guest was.

"Sir Gilsdorf do you have anything further to add?" Kalecgos asked his knight.

"No, you have explained all that was needed to be, My Emperor."

"Then if that be the case, you are all dismissed." The Emperor said with a toss of his hand. The squires all bowed their heads in unison and left the Throne Room in silence.


	12. The Christmas Formal

Mohthelieum was bustling with people. The famous Winter Formal was a hit. All who were held in high regards in the Realms were invited, and almost all of those invites were accepted. The guests were sent to the Ballroom that was adjoined with the Dining Hall. The enormous room was decorated stupendously; from the ceiling where fake snow slowly fell to the recently polished floor. As the company came pouring in, they immediatley busied themselves with greeting friends and chatting about the juiciest pieces of gossip they have heard during the year.

The satisfied visitors, with drinks in hand, were having a great time. Especially the dwarfs, who were already drinking whiskey and beer prior to arrival.

Despite being one of the hosts to the Winter Formal, the Prince along with his fellow squires were found sitting together trying to avoid the rest of the party. Each was showing off new spells they have learned, seeing who had the best "trick".

"Hey look," Charon exclaimed rubbing his hands together. When he paused from the rubbing, he showed the others how red his palms were and then went on with the spell. He held one hand up, his thumb and middle finger touching. _Snap!_ White sparks flew from his hands as his two fingers slid off one another. Charon snapped once more and was rewarded with a tiny orange flame, flickering violently between his fingers.

"Did you just learn that?" Xavier asked with amazement.

"Yes," the squire said with satisfaction. "And I can do much more than this, I just can't show it here. I might set the castle on fire." A round of laughs succeeded the joke along with a sip of wine.

"What about you Aslan?" Tomas asked. "The Emperor had to have taught you _something_ recently."

"Well," The Prince began slowly, thinking about a spell he could try out. "There is one, but my Father did not show me this. I learned it myself."

"Let's see it!" was the single exclamation.

"Alright, Alright!" he laughed motioning for his friends to calm down. "Just wait a moment." After he said this, he turned his head towards the huge doorway on the far side of the room. A sharp and loud whistle broke through the loud noise of the talking guests and was responded by excited barking.

There, running through the hall was a hound. Startled guests moved out of the slobbering pet's way as it approached the Prince.

"Isn't that one of Sir Gilsdorf's hunting dogs?" Tomas asked. Aslan could not answer his friend. He was being barraged with happy, wet licks from the blood hound's huge pink tongue.

"Down!" He ordered the dog. Like the well trained pet he was, the hound sat perfectly still at the Prince's side.

"What is this, Aslan?" Charon asked curiously.

"Watch and see. " was the assured response. The knights in training watched as Aslan bent his head toward the hound until his fine nose touched the cold wet nose of the animal. His amber eyes stared into the droopy small eyes of the dog. And here he spoke loudly and clearly.

"Dog, love. Think. _Speak_!"

The hound moved his wrinkly face away and did exactly as the Prince said.

"Aslan! I speak! I love! I think and I know!" came a deep gruff voice from the hound's floppy lips. As the Prince looked back to his friends he found them all clustered together, their eyes wide in shock starting at the dog who just spoke. Lord Fendrel, who was not too far away from the group of boys, witnessed the spectacle too.

"Did you see that?" he told another lord (who is to be unnamed.)

"See what?"

"The Prince just made that hound speak!" Fendrel said breathlessly.

"So he made a dog speak, can't Emperor Kalecgos do the same?"

Fendrel grabbed the arm of the Lord next to him and whispered. "Only the Nameless Emperor and Emperor Jesu have such powers as to give dumb animals the gift of speech! Emperor Kalecgos could never accomplish something so impossible! His son just preformed the feat without even breaking a sweat. This has to mean something."

"By something you mean that he's more powerful than his Father?"

"Not only that, my fellow, but this must mean he really is the one we've all been waiting for! Anveena has truly given birth to the Second Jesu, and he must have accepted his destiny as well, no doubt."

"So what do you propose to do?"

"I shall tell Kalecgos tomorrow, after the hunting party leaves to find the Stag. But never mind it now, come along I do believe my wife is beckoning us to come to her."

"How in the name of the Jesu did you do that!?" Xavier gasped.

"I cannot tell you, for I do not really know myself." The Prince said patting the hounds head. " Perhaps, one could say it just came to me? Now, hound, what is your name?"

"Well, I do not remember having one but if I did have one I think I like the name Rufus. No, perhaps Turkey I quite enjoy the taste of turkey. No, no I think---."

"How does Bailiff sound to you?" Charon interrupted, trying to silence the dog's newest gift.

"Bailiff," the hound repeated, thinking if the name suited him. "Though I would prefer Turkey as my name, Bailiff is alright with me. (then the dog turned to the Prince.) Is the name fine with you, Your Majesty?"

"If you find it becomes you well, then I approve it." Aslan said with a smile, giving one of Bailiff's ears a good scratch.

"Prince Aslan? Is that you?" came a female's voice from the other side of the table. As the Prince turned his head, he saw before him two young ladies, both dressed in fine dresses. One had dark ginger hair tied back into a tight bun. Half of her face was concealed by a feather fan she held gracefully in her small hand.

The other maiden was much taller than the woman next to her, she had dirty blonde hair which was pulled back into a long braid, but she had the most regal of features. A very attractive woman indeed. However, the Prince was not swooned by this woman's appearance, for he knew someone else who he felt was much more beautiful than she. However this "who" unfortunately could not attend the Formal. She apparently had been sick for the past week.

"Princess Ferona," He said warmly to the woman with the ginger hair. Getting up from his seat, he bowed and courteously gave her hand a kiss. The Prince then turned to the taller one. With half of the enthusiasm, he stated her name. "Princess Jadis."

She coolly held his gaze and after a moment he did the same polite gesture to her.

"My Lady," came Tomas' voice, speaking to Jadis. "You look very pale, are you ill?"

"No," was the curt response. Though she responded with a calm and well-mannered voice, the squires felt a shiver go down their spine as her icy tenor filled the air. "My skin is very difficult to color, Sir---?"

"Tomas...Sir Tomas, Son of Lord Gregory who is one of Emperor Kalecgos' council members." the squire replied hastily, as he leaned in to kiss her hand. Their eyes met for a brisk second. A small smile bent Jadis' red lips.

"A pleasure to meet you Sir Tomas." She said in her kindest tone yet.

"So, Aslan," came Ferona's voice, her fan pointing at the dog sitting on the floor beside him. " Is that your furry mongrel?"

"Now you listen here missy! I am no one's furry mongrel, and I am in fact no _mongrel_-- My father was a bloodhound as was my mother. No mutt blood flows in me. So keep you_rrrrrr_ insults to you_rrrrr_self!" came Bailiff's angry bark. Ferona fell back into Jadis' arms. The two maidens stared at the hound in fright.

"It speaks?" Ferona gasped, clutching her fan in her hand.

"His name's Bailiff." Aslan said.

"I do not care what its name is!" Jadis spat, now speaking to the dog. "You have no right to talk to a Princess of Charn that way you ignorant creature!" Bailiff only responded with a disgusted snarl.

"Peace, my Princess." Aslan said harshly (though he was trying to sound as calm as possible.) " If you do not want to be insulted, then do not insult others."

Embarrassed, Jadis lowered her eyes and tried to ignore the Prince's amber gaze.

"Excuse my sister, Aslan," Ferona said apologetically. " She just had a very bad ride here."

The Prince didn't respond but only looked back at his fellow squires. One word could describe Xavier and Charon's looks. Awkward. Tomas, however, was looking at Jadis in such a way that it made Aslan sick to the stomach.

The sound of trumpets echoed through the Ballroom. All were silent and turned their attention to the Main Entrance. There stood two trumpeters clothed in silver and navy blue with the Mohthelieum coat of arms stitched on their tunics.

"Presenting...The Great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea Kalecgos, and The Great Empress-Beyond-the-Sea Anveena!" came the unison voices of the two trumpeters.

All guests, including the Prince himself, bowed low as the Emperor and Empress slowly walked in. He looked up, seeing his parents hand in hand. Anveena looked extremely beautiful in her light blue gown. No other woman present looked as gorgeous as her. Many of the women would end up talking about the Empress and how envious they were of her loveliness that evening. Kalecgos also looked beautiful in his own fashion.

Once the Emperor and Empress stopped in there procession, did the guests finally rise again.

"Twas good to meet you again," Ferona whispered to the Prince. "But I'm afraid The King of Charn is looking for us. So, I guess this is goodbye for now?"

"The feeling is mutual, my dear. Farewell, and tell your father I give my greetings." The young maiden nodded as she took her sister by the wrist and made their way through a crowd of people.

Aslan could overhear his Father speaking, it was the same welcoming he gave at every Christmas Formal. Though it was a fairly good speech, after hearing it once a few too many times, the whole spiel starts to become annoying.

"He uses this welcoming _every_ _year_," Aslan muttered.

"Oh can you please not be like that?" Tomas said, irritated by the Prince's grumbles. "You've been in a bitter mood since the Princesses came by. Do you not like them?"

"I do not mind Ferona," Aslan answered. "It is Jadis that puts me in such a state."

"Why is that?" Tomas sounded _defensive_. What was the matter with him? He just met this Princess (who showed little to no interest in him) and all of a sudden he's acting like a romantic!

"The Queen of Charn has been trying to arrange a marriage between Jadis and I." The Prince snapped. "I refuse such an act, and my Father does as well. The King has been taking Princess Jadis to all these parties and Realm meetings so that maybe something will happen between us...which nothing has."

"If you ask me," Bailiff began. "A person who does nothing but acts as if they are ruler above all else is no good piece of meat. I know, I've had my share of bad meat." Three of the squires let out a soft chuckle at the hound's analogy. Tomas, though, remained silent.

Once Emperor Kalecgos finished speaking the feast began. The long dining table was filled with an assortment of meats, fruits, fish, vegetables, and sweet-tasting desserts. The rest of the night was filled with music and dancing, even Bailiff joined in on one of the dances. Then as the clock stroke twelve, Kalecgos called for the four squires to meet him at the head of the Dining Table.

"As I mentioned before, a visitor wished to see you before you embarked on the journey for the Stag. I have a very good feeling you all know who he is." And when Kalecgos finished his sentence an elderly man stood at his side.

His white beard reached down to his protruding belly. He was dressed in a fine dark red tunic with a thick green cloak covering his shoulders and in his hand was an enormous sack. The four boys knew all too well who this jolly old man was.

"Father Christmas?" Charon said with a big smile. The bearded man let out his renowned _Ho! Ho! Ho!_

"I've heard you fine young men are going after the White Stag, correct?" Father Christmas asked.

"Yes sir," Xavier said puffing out his chest. "And we _are_ going to catch it."

"I do not doubt you," was the chuckling reply. " All four of you have great courage, but still I believe you can do with these. Each of you has your own gift, and each will help you in catching the Stag." Father Christmas raised one of his leather-gloved hands and gestured to Charon to step forward.

"Charon, for you this set of reins." In the old man's large hand was one single red rein, with a gold fringe around the edges. " Once you catch the Stag, place this on it and it will allow you to tame its wild nature." The squire bowed his thanks and stepped back in line. Tomas was next.

"Tomas, I leave you in charge of this," Father Christmas boomed as he handed Tomas a compass. "This compass only follows the direction of the Stag, use this and the chances of you finding it are much greater."

Next was Xavier. "Xavier, this rope is the only rope able to lasso the White Stag. This is the only way to capture the Stag without doing it harm. Make sure you take very good care of it."

"I will Sir!" the squire exclaimed. The old man could not help but let out a hearty laugh.

The Prince was last to accept his gift. Father Christmas turned to the young man, and he grew very serious as he spoke. "Prince Aslan, I trust you with the most powerful gift of them all." And with saying this, he placed in the Prince's hand a plain, gray smooth stone. The only thing that made it unlike any other stone found on the ground was a mark carved into it's smooth cut surface, what it said he couldn't tell.

"What _exactly_ does it do?" Aslan asked, who was wondering why he was given a rock and why would it be the most powerful of the gifts.

" You must only use it in times of extreme need for it only works once." Father Christmas answered, but when he saw the look on the Prince's face he figured that his reply did not fully answer the young man's question. "When the time comes, you will know when to use it. The stone will crack and what you wish will work backwards."

"How will this help me capture the Stag?" Aslan asked, not meaning for the question to be rude in any way. Father Christmas beckoned him closer, the Prince leaned in as the old man's chapped lips whispered in his ear.

"It won't." was his answer. Father Christmas rose up again and looked at all of the squires.

"These are _tools_ not _toys_," he said gravely. "Bear them well. (Then the old man turned to the Emperor) I apologize for such a untimely and short visit. I only wish I could stay longer."

Emperor Kalecgos held up his hand to silence the jolly old man. "Nonsense! Do not think anything of it, my good friend. It's Christmas! We all understand your hectic schedule deprives you of time."

"Speaking of schedules," Father Christmas chuckled, pulling out a gold pocket watch from his tunic. "I am running behind mine! Good night my Emperor, good night boys and Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you! Merry Christmas!" the squires called out as Father Christmas heaved his sack over his shoulder and walked out through the Throne Room.

After he had left, Kalecgos strongly recommended that the four go to bed. They were going to start tomorrow off very early in the morning.

Walking through the halls, the squires compared each other's gifts. Prince Aslan kept his gift to himself. There was so much he did not understand about it. This was a _rock_. A plain old rock that makes things go backwards? That didn't even make sense! What could he possibly do with such a worthless thing?

Outside the castle gates, two small cargo wagons stood silently in the cold, crisp winter air. Each was filled with supplies for the journey which was to commence tomorrow after dawn. The temperature outside was far too cold for the horses to stay out for the night. They would be dealt with the next day. No one guarded the wagons, and the goods inside them were already checked earlier that day. No one was around, save one little shadow that appeared out of the darkness.

"One of these carts has to have room for someone to squeeze into." came its sweet voice. The shadow pulled back it's black hood and revealed its true identity.

Lilly.

She had planned this may days prior. She would pretend to be sick the evening of the Formal and would tag along with the squires on their trip. So far, her plan worked excellently. She snuck out of her house unnoticed, Aslan believed she was sick and was preoccupied with the Winter Formal, and there was no one to witness her crawling into one of the carts in this dead hour of night. Or so she thought.

"Hi!" came a shrill greeting. Startled, Lilly fell back into the wagon landing uncomfortably among the supplies. That was it, her plans were ruined. Her chances of joining the squires failed.

"This isn't what it looks like!" She answered hastily, trying to save herself from reprimand. "I-I was just packing a bag of healing herbs for the journey, I figured they need some just in case." A small head popped out from the edge of the wagon. Lilly was furious when she found out who it was.

"Stelan!" she scolded. "What are you doing out here!? It's far past your bedtime. And how did you sneak up on me like that!? I didn't even hear you!"

"I woke up." Stelan giggled. "Also, I _live_ here and you didn't hear me because Aslan taught me how to teleport. It's a lot of fun, especially when I sneak up on _you_!"

"He _would_ teach you that." Lilly muttered under her breath, frustrated her plans were in need of improvising.

"What are _you_ doing out here?" the child asked suspiciously.

"Like I said, I was just packing a bag of healing herbs for the journey." Lilly answered innocently.

"No you're not! You're sneaking out!" He exclaimed in protest.

"Shh!" Lilly hushed pressing her finger to his lips. "Do you want the whole castle to hear you? Ok... so what if I am?"

"I'll tell Father and Mother on you," Stelan threatened. "You don't believe me? I'll do it! I teleport back right now!"

"No!" Lilly begged taking hold of the child's hands. "Please don't! It would ruin everything. What must I do so you won't tell?"

"Take me with!"

"Absolutely not! You are too young, if your parents found out they would be furious!"

"Alright," Stelan shrugged walking off towards the castle. "I can't wait to see what Father will do to you when he finds out. Maybe he'll turn your hair into snakes."

Lilly grasped her long curls of hair. She did not want her locks to become snake heads.

"Ok! Ok!" She finally said. "I'll let you come too. I must admit, Stel, you are quite a persuader."

''I know," Stelan beamed as he crawled into the cart.

"So, what do you think we should do about tomorrow? We can't hide in the wagon forever." Lilly sighed.

"I got a great idea!" Stelan said with a mischievous grin.

**Author's Note: Hooray for lame ending! Sorry, I thought it be better to end the chapter with a dramatic quote from Stelan. Very convincing for his age isn't he? I apologize for not updating recently both here and on YouTube (only mentioned because I know some people here who read my story also watch my movies as well.) There was a HUGE I mean HUGE essay I had to do for English and also I've been under the weather for the past week. So, I apologize for not doing much the past month and a half. Anyway! Thank you for reading and don't forget to review! **


	13. The Wood Between the Worlds

**Author's Note: Sorry about how late this update was. For some reason this chapter was hard to write and was coming along VERY slowly. I apologize if the beginning part of the chapter, where I'm just describing what happened the first day is boring. I tried in my first draft to get into more detail with some dialogue but it just seemed to drag on. Tell me what you think! :) **

The next morning's chilly air was filled with commotion from the departing company. Since the dim yellow Mohthelieum sun peaked over the ocean, they had been busing themselves with saddling the horses and putting last minute supplies in the already well stuffed wagons.

Sir Gilsdorf seemed to be very cranky that morning. Most people said it was just that he had a bad night's sleep. 'If you ask me' Xavier said just out of ears reach from the grumpy knight. 'Sir Gilsdorf just has a blister on his rear, like he always does early in the morning.' Due to the hunting's party leader being very impatient, the supplies in the wagons were not double checked, the lethargic convoy was rushed to their positions and what was the worst was that no one got a bite of breakfast. Only a certain few, ( the four squires) sneaked a piece of coffee cake the cook gave them into their mouths when their teacher wasn't looking.

As the hunting party set out. Sir Gilsdorf, along with the four squires were in the front of the line. His other knights along with his trusted pack of hunting dogs (which was headed by Bailiff) were behind them, and then four enormous centaurs, who were apparently good friends of Sir Gilsdorf, flanked the horse-pulled (these horses were dumb animals) supply wagons. Their first leg of the journey was getting to the Wood Between the Worlds before noon high the next day. This Wood was located on the opposite coast of the isle and was squeezed in between the narrow valley of two tall mountains. Many of those on the journey have never seen the Wood before, only Prince Aslan and Sir Gilsdorf already knew what they were dealing with.

I shall not get into detail about the night in Barrenport. I shall only inform you that Barrenport is a small town where Emperor Kalecgos' royal council are housed. A small camp was made in the outskirts of the town, a dinner was cooked over a fire and they all slept fairly well that night. All in all, a rather smooth first night.

By noontime the next day, the group reached the Western Mountains. The most time consuming part of the journey began here. There seemed to be only one way to the Wood Between the Worlds, and that was through a passageway right in between the mountains. The terrain was steep and shifting, and so the horses found it much safer to carefully walk through and save their strength up for when they run after the Stag. It was a pretty good excuse because Sir Gilsdorf ordered only for the horses to walk, due to safety issues. The last thing he wanted was an injured (or dead) man on his watch.

Finally, after a long while of traveling, the horses were relieved to see the large golden gates of the Wood Between the Worlds. Once close enough, the gates opened wide, welcoming the visitors. Quickly, the party poured in from the enclosed pathway into the now open area.

The Wood Between the Worlds ignored the fact it was winter time just outside its gates. The trees were all green like in Spring, and the grass was tall with tiny drops of dew still lingering on its pointed stalks. Even the air itself, had a warm feel to it. Indeed, this was a magical place. But what made it so unique was the hundreds of blue pools which were legendary for transporting beings to different worlds. Aslan had come here a few times with his Father when they had to travel to distant lands for important meetings with fellow leaders in the magic realm. So, in general he was fairly familiar with the power this place had. The others, not so much. Most of them had never even heard of the Wood Between the Worlds previous to this trip.

Sir Gilsdorf's voice broke through the silent awe of the party. "Men, we are about to step foot into a place that can be very dangerous. There are rules you _must_ obey. Listen and listen to them exactly as I say. One, do not drink from the pools of water. Two, Tomas shall lead us in a direction to where the Stag is. No one follows another path besides the one he leads. Three, if the stag jumps into a pool and you witness it, do not follow after it, notify me. Four, do not, and I mean DO NOT get curios and jump into a pool. If I catch wind of anyone doing so it will be Dark to pay!" Sir Gilsdorf turned to Tomas. "Come, Tomas what is our heading?"

The Prince watched as Tomas pulled out the compass he received the other night. He felt upset that all of his fellow squires were given tools to help catch the Stag. What was he given? A stone that apparently had no use in capturing the white beast at all. It seemed very unfair to him. However, being taught to be polite since he was seven; he decided to kept his thoughts to himself.

Tomas showed the compass to Sir Gilsdorf. With a curt nod of the head the knight turned to the others. "We'll move faster split up. Prince Aslan, Sir Christopher, Sacarius, and Bailiff come with us. Charon and Xavier, arrange the lot. No more than six to a group. Quickly now men!" As Charon and Xavier organized the rest of the hunting party, Sir Gilsdorf's little faction rode off in the direction the compass was leading. On Aslan's right was Sacarius, an enormous centaur with long blonde and brunette hair with a pinto horse body to match. Sir Christopher rode along beside his fellow knight, and Tomas led the way with Bailiff jogging alongside Tomas' horse.

For what felt like hours, the Prince never caught sight of any other hunting group. Tomas had been leading them in the exact same direction for a long time and though Aslan trusted his friend, deep down he felt something was not right.

"Aslan?" Morgan whinnied quietly to her rider.

"Morgan?" He asked back, bowing his head closer to her face.

"Have you been feeling we've been traveling in a straight-line for the past half hour?"

"It seems we are both thinking the same thing." He responded.

"You would think that we'd run into a pool the Stag jumped into by now. Or at the least _something_ that indicated the Stag went this way. But we have to rely on the faith of a compass that doesn't even point North." Aslan jabbed his heel into Morgan's side. It didn't really hurt her, but it did make her say 'ouch'.

"Don't be doubtful, Morgan. Father Christmas said it points in the direction of the Stag. I do not think Father Christmas would give us equipment that didn't even work."

"He gave you that rock," She said. The Prince was about to respond when he realized what she said was right. But, really? Would that jolly old man give extremely important tools to them that were in bad condition? The thought of it made him pull the little stone out of his tunic's pocket. His finger tracing over the single mark on its smooth face.

"I never claimed the stone did not work." Aslan finally said. Though, while staring at the small stone in his palm, he grew cynical that this gift was worth anything at all. Without thinking it over, the Prince tossed the stone off to his left and it landed within the blades of grass. While in flight, it flipped over to it's bare side and landed that way. For a long while, the stone remained there. Unsuspecting, waiting for its master to come again. And once that fateful day came when it was reunited with its master, Aslan would be all too thankful for crossing paths with it again.

The small group kept on in the same direction for a little while longer. As the Prince looked around he noticed how bored and exhausted everyone looked. Even Bailiff's never ending wag was starting to droop down and slow.

The Prince was starting to get a headache from what he assumed was the cause of the constant image of trees and pools. His vision began to blur, and the colors bled together. His headache worsened, it felt like someone was beating him over the head with a blacksmith's hammer. Aslan heard a voice calling him, but it faded off as a new image came into his mind.

It was the Woods Between the Worlds and the Prince found himself (or so he thought it was his actual self) walking up to a certain pool that was marked by a skinny gnarled tree with a letter E carved into its bark. Beside this pool was a huge white animal, with long pointed white antlers. One of it's legs was extended outwards towards the water, as if it was about to jump in. The Stag!

Just as quickly as the vision came, it faded from his mind. Aslan's vision was restored as well as the rest of his previously dulled senses. However, his head hurt just as much as ever and he felt drained and frail. This was his first vision. A gift he would have sooner or later receive for he was the Heir to the Emperor's throne. All Emperors have visions of future occurrences, it is as one would put it a mandatory talent for the Crown. And it seems our prince has just become eligible

"Aslan! What is wrong?" came a panicked bray from Morgan

"We're going the wrong way." He muttered half out loud half to himself.

"_What's_ wrong?" the mare asked with her ears raised to hear him better.

"We're going the wrong way!" The Prince exclaimed. Sir Gilsdorf and Tomas turned around to see what the commotion was.

"What is this, my Prince?" Sir Gilsdorf asked.

Instead of calmly explaining what he just had a vision of, Aslan jerked Morgan's reins to the right and she obediently galloped off deeper into the woods.

"Prince Aslan you get your---!" Sir Gilsdorf yelled after the young man. Sacarius stopped his good friend and offered to go after the suddenly neurotic Prince. You would think that Tomas would be one of the first to go after his friend and fellow squire. Unfortunately not this time.

For some time, he was slowly starting to feel dislike and jealousy toward Aslan._ Aslan_ was the most handsome. _Aslan _was the strongest. _Aslan_ was the smartest. _Aslan_ was the oldest. _Aslan_ was always right. Now he's trying to take the Stag all for himself! Tomas wanted to send the jealous thoughts away, but somewhere deep in his mind something kept telling him what he was feeling was right. That all of this was true. That deep down Aslan was a self centered, inconsiderate, stupid fool that adores everyone crawling at his feet. Well, Tomas wasn't going to take it anymore. He decided that he would not be happy until the Prince was so unhappy that _he_ was on his knees begging forgiveness to Tomas. Oh yes, that sounded all too delicious to the squire. All too delicious.

Aslan lead the black mare to a certain part of the Woods. Morgan was not sure where they were but the Prince knew exactly. His golden gaze carefully scanned the area.

"Do _you_ see anything?" He whispered warmly in Morgan's ear. She looked about too. A silent gasp broke her lips. Two ladder lengths ahead of them, something was standing behind a group of trees. Though most of its body was concealed, its bright white fur gave it away. The Stag was grazing in a patch of tall grass completely unaware of the Prince and his horse's presence.

"By the Nameless Emperor! You were right!" she murmured with a smile.

"Shh," He whispered gently patting her neck then gently kicking her side. "This is our chance." The Prince swiftly maneuvered her towards the Stag's blind spot, and Morgan kept as quite as a stalking predator. They got as close as a couple yards away. Just as the Prince saw in his vision, The Stag was standing in front of a pool marked by a tree with an 'E' carved into its bark.

Slowly he grabbed the rope hanging from his saddle and hastily tied a large noose.

"I thought Charon has the only rope to capture the Stag." Morgan murmured.

"He does." Aslan replied just as softly. "But does it hurt to try?" The Stag looked up their way, finally overhearing their conversation. Immediatley it leaped into the pool. The black mare, here made a crucial mistake. She was so overwhelmed by the suspense of the hunt that she instantly ran after it. Morgan only realized too late that her hoofs were sliding past the edge of the pool and into the clear blue water.


	14. Not Starting Off Too Well

The Prince slowly opened eyes to find himself amongst a garden of large, marbled, sharp boulders. He felt very weak, but managed to sit up and try to remember what happened, only to realize that the rock he was laying on had blood dripping down its rigid surface. Immediatley, Aslan looked about himself to see where he was bleeding from. The side of his cheek was awfully scraped up, explaining how his jaw felt like something stung him.

He also found a large rip in his tunic that revealed a bleeding cut.

_How did I get here?_ he thought running his fingers through his hair. Then his memory immediatley came to him when he looked to his left to see a limp black bulge lying a few feet away from him.

"Morgan!?" He called out nervously, scrambling to his fallen horse's side. Drained of energy, he threw himself onto her side. "Morgan, say something to me!" He cried turning his head to hers.

The mare's brown eyes opened into tiny slits, with a weak groan breaking her lips.

"Aslan," she murmured softly. A hard exhale from her nostrils quickly told him she was in pain.

"Where are you hurting?" He asked looking up and down her body.

"My-my-my legs, oh my legs!" She whinnied agonizingly. The Prince looked to her front quarters. Her right leg had a large gash that was bleeding at a rate that made Aslan very worried. Also, her left back leg was caught in between two rocks. It looked like she tried to wiggle it out because her ankle was twisted in wrong direction and swelled up to the size of a grapefruit. With these injuries, the Prince's horse could never walk again and obviously if she couldn't walk she couldn't survive. Yet, Aslan refused to believe that his favorite mare might just die of her wounds.

"How bad is it?" She asked, hope wearing in her voice.

"Stop it!" the Prince said, tears starting to form in his eyes. "Stop talking like that! You will be alright. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Quite yourself, my Prince," She whispered nudging his side with her velvety muzzle. "This was my fault in the first place, if I die I die because I brought it upon myself."

"You are not going to die!" He protested digging through her saddle, frantically looking for something he now remembered bringing along on the journey.

Out of one of the traveling bags attached to the saddle, Aslan pulled out the vial that held the healing Fire Flower juice. He pulled the stopper off and crawled over to her large face.

"Drink this." he said, carefully lifting her head close to the cordial.

The black mare did as told. She creaked her mouth open and stuck her light pink tongue out.

Now, as we can all guess, the Prince was in sheer terror his closest friend was about to die. So, I believe we can forgive him for being a bit clumsy in giving Morgan more of a drink than a trickle of the healing nectar. In the long run, him giving his horse more than the prescribed one drop caused her to live like an immortal. Until she faced another injury like this one, she would never be able to die of old age. Still, as I said, I think we can let this little mistake slip past us.

Within moments, Morgan looked as if she was never injured. The wounds healed perfectly and her ankle was put back into place. The Prince was able to save his friend, and nothing made him more overjoyed than that.

"Bless you Aslan!" Morgan exclaimed pressing her forehead to his, feeling his strong arms wrapping around her neck in an embrace. "Oh, I could not be anymore thankful for you than I am now. Any horse would be honored to have you for their rider! Bless you!"

"All I care about is that you are alright." the Prince said. The warm embrace lasted only a little longer when they both agreed it be much safer away from the field of boulders. Aslan took her by the reins and led the mare down to a pool of water that a small water fall drained into. No sooner when Morgan saw the clean, blue water did she bend her head down and began to madly gulp up the water. The Prince dropped her reins and sat on the edge of the pool (which was made up of tiny red and gray pebbles) right beside the horse.

"I wage Sir Gilsdorf wants my head on a silver platter right about now." Aslan sighed taking one of the pebbles and tossing it into the pond.

"Why do you say that?" Morgan asked between gulps.

"I broke all of his rules." he said.

"No you didn't. You didn't drink out of one of the pools did you?"

"Alright, three out of the four rules. Still, I do not think he will be happy to see me." Aslan said. He tossed yet again another pebble into the pool, only this time it responded with an unexpected "Ouch!" Morgan rose her head from drinking and looked into the pool.

"Call me mad but----did the water just speak?" she whinnied.

Aslan did not reply. He only looked into the pond's water, trying to think logically about what just happened.

"Perhaps the pond is home to Talking Fish?" He suggested. Morgan gave him a dissatisfied look. He only replied with a shrug of the shoulder.

The mare began to bend her head down to drink again. "Honestly, Talking Fish, what kind of idiotic idea is----" her speech was cut off by her frightened braying. There in the center of the pool was the drooping, wet face of Bailiff.

"There you all are!" He barked happily as he climbed out of the pool and shook himself dry. "Sacarius came running back and told us you fell in. Those pools are rather nasty things. Why, I myself was bombarded with little round pebbles just before I got here."

"It seems you broke all four rules now, Morgan." Aslan remarked with a smile.

"Well doesn't that just make you an Apostle of Jesu, my Prince." she said with a playful stamp of the hoof.

Bailiff wasn't paying attention to the Prince and his horse's conversation. His nose had water in it, making it hard from him to smell.

"Blast it! How am I to find the Stag if my nose is water drenched like this!" he grumbled rubbing his wet nose with his paw.

Just then, Sacarius, Tomas, Sir Christopher and Sir Gilsdorf all came out of the pool (the ones with horses were on foot pulling their steeds out of the water.)

"There you two are!" Sir Gilsdorf cried out furiously. Aslan felt a challenge coming from his mentor, and quickly rose to his feet.

"What were you thinking, Prince? You disobeyed all of my rules!" The knight spat.

_Three actually, _Aslan wished to say but stopped himself. Wise cracks were not appropriate at the moment. ''I had a vision the Stag was by that pool, and I found it there. I could not just go galloping back to tell you. What if it moved to another spot while I was gone? You would have thought me a liar."

"You could have not run off in the first place and just have told me." Sir Gilsdorf said, his tone a tad bit calmer.

"Like I said, it could have ran off before we got there and you would think me a liar." The Prince repeated. Morgan then decided to chime into the argument.

"In my defense as well as in my rider's," she began. "It was my fault we fell in. I got excited and ran into the pool after the Stag jumped in."

"I was not asking for your defense, mare. And I think your rider can defend himself." Sir Gilsdorf snapped at Morgan. "Even if the Stag jumped into the pool or not," He said looking back at the Prince. "You had no right to just run off like that away from the rest of the party. What if something happened to you? The Emperor would have my head, I tell you! Frankly, I do not believe you declarations, my Prince. Tomas, do you have a heading proving the Aslan's claims?"

The Prince turned to his friend for support. The squire looked down at his compass. The Prince was the only one who caught the startled look in Tomas' dark eyes, but as he lifted his gaze to Sir Gilsdorf, Tomas shook his head.

The Prince was furious. _What kind of madness is this!?_ he thought to himself. _Is he jealous that I found the Stag first? I cannot help it if that excuse of a compass can't find the beast. _

Tomas had the nerve to look back at Aslan. There was a angry fire swelling in the Prince's amber eyes. Regret and disloyalty stabbed Tomas like a saber, his eyes could not bear to look at his friend any longer and were hastily glued to the earth.

Unexpectedly Bailiff began to bark madly. His nose was pointed at a distant border of forest. The green treetops barley visible from where the group was standing.

"We got 'em now boys!" he barked. "That creature has come this way! Hurry humans! My guess is its in that forest!"

Sir Gilsdorf turned to Tomas. One thing you must know about Sir Gilsdorf is that he trusts his dogs' noses better than he trusts his closest students and knights. Which at this point in time, was lucky on Aslan's part.

'' If you think that hiding the truth from us will aid you, Tomas. That is a dream that is too good to be true. My Prince, I apologize for not trusting you. But that still does not take away from the fact you disobeyed me. Both of you will be given your punishment once we settle later in the evening." The Knight turned to Sacarius and Sir Christopher.

"Hurry back to the rest of the party, lead them back here. It seems the Stag has a preference of grazing in the green grasses of Elysium."

* * *

Later than evening the hunting party made camp at the edge of the woods. Sir Gilsdorf was generous and let the men cook up a couple of chickens and help themselves to any ingredients they needed to make soup. To these men, Sir Gilsdorf was in a rather unusually good mood. However, as for Tomas and Aslan they wish they could say the same. Their mentor did not allow them to eat the hearty dinner and tonight they would be sleeping outside of the tents without a blanket or cloak to cover themselves once it got cold. You say this is a bit harsh for their minor errors, well that is Sir Gilsdorf for you. Luckily, Aslan was able to have his wounds checked prior to Sir Gilsdorf's decision of penalty. He did not use the juice of the Fire Flower. The vial was halfway full now and he didn't want to waste anymore of the precious nectar on minor injuries such as his.

The two penalized squires hadn't talked to each other since the Christmas Formal. Aslan found that quite appalling, since Tomas was always asking him how he was doing. He thought probably that the whole scene earlier that caused this lack of conversation.

"Why did you lie about the Stag?" The Prince asked slowly. He didn't want to start off with a question like that, but he couldn't think of anything else to talk about.

"Because," Tomas said.

"Because?"

"Because you always do that! You can't stand it when someone else has a more important task than you. So you show off how perfect you are and then watch as the rest of us are pushed off to the side while you get the spotlight!" Tomas blurted out furiously. Aslan was quick to defend himself.

"What in the world are you talking about? I had a vision of where the Stag was. Didn't your compass point in that direction?" Aslan answered, trying to swallow down his temper.

Tomas avoided the question. "You couldn't just keep your vision to yourself! Everybody knows that I am the weakest squire out of all of us. Sir Gilsdorf has always picked on me since I stepped up to this level, earlier today he wasn't. It was some miracle that he was actually listening to me, and then you go and ruin it for me."

"That's a lie Tomas," The Prince said, his voice calmer now. "If you were such a weakling Sir Gilsdorf would have never bumped you up to this level in the first place. Besides, Sir Gilsdorf picks on _everybody_. It's like his own little way of saying 'I love you' to us."

"Oh save your bad jokes for someone who wants to hear them." Tomas spat, catching the Prince by total surprise. The squire turned around and stomped off into the camp.

_What happened to him?_ Aslan thought sadly. Tomas wasn't the same person he was just a few days ago. He never liked leading the others, he was happy just being apart of the group. He never gathered enough courage to ever back talk anyone let alone lie, and he's done it all in one day. This couldn't be Tomas. If it was the Prince was not taking a liking to this new one.

"Who spit in _his_ dinner?" came a voice from behind Aslan. It was Charon. He had a cup of what was assumed to be wine and a bowl of soup.

"I thought you may want some of the leftovers." Charon said sitting in the grass. Aslan only took the cup of wine. He was more thirsty than he was hungry.

"Have you been noticing _him_ acting differently lately too?" the Prince asked his friend.

"Not very much. He hasn't been talking to me since we started the journey." Charon said staring at the chunks of meat swimming in the broth.

"You can eat it if you like," the Prince said. He saw the famished look in the squire's blue eyes. "I'm not hungry."

While the coal haired squire began wolfing down the soup, Aslan watched as the knights were preparing themselves for bed. He noticed one in particular, the one who observed his wounds earlier that day. The knight was shorter than the Prince and appeared to be much heavier, but Aslan only made that assumption because the knight wore a breast plate that didn't fit him. He always wore a helmet, never showing his face. His hands were covered with large brown gauntlets but the Prince noticed the small, almost feminine hands when the knight took the gloves off to apply a cream to the Prince's cut on his side. There were quite a few things Aslan found strange of this knight, especially right now, as the man suspiciously sneaked over towards the supply wagons.

Curious, the Prince decided to see what this man was up to.

"Where are you going?" Charon asked after swallowing a spoonful of his dinner.

"Nowhere," Aslan said curtly, not noticing the confused look on his friend's face.

The knight pressed on, towards one of the supply wagons. The Prince watched as the man pulled one of the flaps and stuck his head inside. Any other person probably thought that he was trying to look for something in the cart, but our prince was convinced that something was up.

"Excuse me," Aslan began, finally revealing himself to the knight. In a great spasm, the man stuck his head back out and almost fell to the ground he was so startled. "Forgive me if I frightened you." the Prince said apologetically, feeling bad he scared a brave knight so easily.

"Don't--" the knight's voice cracked. "_Ahem!_---I-I mean do not worry about it. I was just too caught up in my business to notice you coming along, my Prince."

Aslan rose one of his eyebrows. " Indeed, what were you looking for? Perhaps I can help you?"

"No, no it is quite alright, Your Majesty. I wouldn't want you to be assisting in the task of a humble knight such as me."

"Try me," Aslan said, leaning against the cart with his arms crossed.

"I do not need any help, I appreciate the offer but I am fine." the knight stammered out as calmly as he could.

The Prince had one more question to ask this man. "Tell me, knight, how does your horse feel after the first leg of the journey?"

"I do not have a horse." He answered.

Aslan knew now this knight _must _be a fake. Every single person on this journey (save the few who walked on all fours) rode on horses. Sir Gilsdorf made that very clear. Quickly, the Prince placed his hands on the knight's helmet and pulled it off. His golden eyes opened wide in astonishment as he looked upon the face of the false knight.

"Lilly!?" He gasped, letting the helmet slip out of his hands and hit the earth with a loud _cling!_


	15. Weeping Willow

Lilly saw a wildfire blazing in the Prince's livid eyes. She sworn that he was mad enough to probably roar like a beast. (which you and I know, due to future references, is quite a frightening experience if directed to one's self.)

"What are you doing here?!" He whispered, though his voice did not lack its rage.

One can easily remember when they were little, being scolded for doing something they were not supposed to do. 'Why did you do it?' would almost always be brought up, and you would be too afraid of being yelled at to a greater extent if you said what your motive was. Well, at this point that was how Lilly felt. Her lips went dry, scared to such a point she couldn't even open her mouth.

"What made you think you could just sneak into the journey like this? Didn't you think that maybe someone would suspect you!?"

"It wasn't my idea to dress up as a knight!" She finally blurted out.

"It was mine!" came a voice from the cart, who peeked his little head out to see what all the commotion was about.

"No, no!" The Prince exclaimed, his hands clasped to his face in frustration. "Lillian Swanwhite, _please_ tell me you did not bring Stelan along!"

"He threatened to report me if I didn't bring him along."

"HE IS SEVEN YEARS OLD!" Aslan roared.

His suddenly loud voice made Lilly's ears ring. She cold never remember a time when her friend was so angry, and it terrified her.

"Were you out of your mind when you made that decision!? He is far too young to be out here! My parents must be worried out of their minds. Lilly, what were you thinking!" He cried, currently more concerned about the whole situation than he was mad.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, rubbing her watery eyes. "I guess I wasn't really thinking."

"No I do not think you were." Aslan added bitterly, making the girl yearn for the earth to swallow her up and never spit her out again.

"I'm sorry too," Stelan said quietly, trying to calm his older brother. ''Please don't be mad Aslan."

"It is hard to resist being mad with both of you," the Prince told the youngster. "It is bad enough you two tagged along uninvited. Now I'll have to baby-sit both of you for the rest of the journey."

"I promise, you won't even know we're here." Lilly said.

"No Lilly," the Prince said, sounding upset. "Don't promise me anything. You know just as well as anyone that I do not tolerate liars. You told me you were sick! Besides, you never let me teach you to use a bow or a sword, so you cannot defend yourself. Stelan can barley lift a sword. Both of you are just extra mouths we have to feed."

"Do not think me worthless because I can't wield a metal stick, Aslan!" Lilly retorted, defending the last bit of dignity she had left. "I took care of your wounds, I helped cook the dinner, for that I do not think I deserve insults. Can't you see I'm sorry?"

Aslan went silent for a moment. He now noticed the tears trickling down from her eyes before she wiped them away with her sleeve. Regret for what he said overtook him. The Prince was in such a rage that he didn't realize what all he said wasn't true. Now it was too late to take it all back, he made one of his closest friends cry. Something he never wished to do.

"'Lil I--." the Prince sighed. For the first time in the whole argument did his tone finally soften, he even called her by her nickname. Her sad eyes flashed to him, waiting for his Majesty to finish. But, just as he was opening his mouth, did they hear their names being called.

_Nameless Emperor,_ Lilly prayed. _If you have any love for me, please spare me of their wraths._

"Aslan? Lilly? Stelan?" Xavier and Charon exclaimed in shock. Sir Gilsdorf pushed himself through and stood face to face with the Prince.

"Aslan, explain this." was the urgent command.

Sir Gilsdorf did not know who Lilly was, so the Prince thought it wise not to use her name. "This woman, along with Stelan, snuck into one of the wagons so they could come along for the hunting trip. She impersonated a knight so she could remain unnoticed." The Knight walked up to Lilly.

"I've seen you, working in the gardens. What is your name?" Sir Gilsdorf asked. His emotion remained unknown, Lilly decided to respond in the most polite way she could.

"Lillian Swanwhite, Sir Gilsdorf," She said with a slight bow of the head.

"Both of you should have known better," he said turning to both of them. "We cannot take you back now, so you got your wish of joining us. Nevertheless, I am afraid it will not be a pleasant journey, at least not for you two. I could use a few more hands in putting up tents and tending the horses, so I will immediatley put those tasks upon you. Others may come later, but for now that is all. As for you Stelan, I will send a letter to the Emperor, so he is notified you came along with us...but I cannot promise you that your Father will be very happy when you return."

"I know," Stelan said with his head down.

Sir Gilsdorf turned to his squires. "You may leave to your tents, except for----."

"I am _still_ aware of my punishment," the Prince said, finishing the Knight's sentence. Sir Gilsdorf made no comment to the interruption but only nodded his head in agreement. "Tomorrow we search the woods for the Stag." and saying this the wiry Sir Gilsdorf left his squires with the gardener and younger prince.

"This makes everything _perfect_ now," Xavier muttered to Charon. "She'll probably have to ride with one of us. That will completely slow us down!"

"I am right here you know," Lilly murmured, too afraid to say it straight to their faces.

"Come, Xavier," the Prince finally said leaving Lilly's side and walking towards the squire. "We should check if our horses are warm. Otherwise, they'll be whining about how stiff and cold they are next dawn."

The maiden wanted to grab Aslan's arm and ask for his forgiveness, but to make a scene in front of the other squires wasn't something she wished to do, for his or her sake. She watched them walk off, round the corner of a yellowish-white tent and then out of her sight.

Only Charon remained now, which made Lilly relatively uncomfortable. Though, the two got along pretty well, Charon had a tendency to take his jokes too far. Not to mention most of his jokes were about her. Lilly found it quite annoying, she originally dealt with the same problem with the Prince, but he grew out of that stage, the blue-eyed squire apparently had not.

"I'm going to bed Lilly," Stelan yawned as his head disappeared behind the white cloth that concealed the contents in the wagon. Now that the boy-prince was asleep; the gardener decided to ask why the coal-haired squire was still in her presence.

"He yelled at you didn't he? That's why you were crying." Charon said, completely disregarding her question.

"Oh, what do you care, Charon? All you have ever done is make fun of me. What do you wish to call me this time? Cry baby? Weeping Willow, oh that's a really good one. You know? Because I love plants. I recommend using that one." Lilly said, a sharpness to her voice. The last thing she wanted to do was be ridiculed even more before she turned in for the night.

"Stop it 'Lil!" He said, sounding a bit irritated himself.

"Did you just call me 'Lil?" She gasped. Never, since the moment they met each other did he ever call her by that name. Oh, he had many names for her but not once did he dub her that.

"Is it a problem?" Charon asked.

"No, it's just you never called me that before." She replied with a small smile.

"Well, is it alright if I start now?" he asked awkwardly scratching his head.

"It's better than being called Weeping Willow," Lilly replied gently, noticing his pale cheeks slightly tint red.

"Did you want to ride with us tomorrow?" He inquired, sending the conversation completely off course and crashing into the Rock of Random Questions.

"I do not think Sir Gilsdorf will take a liking to that," the maiden replied, leaning against the wagon as the Prince did before. "Besides, Xavier and Aslan are mad at me. I don't even have a horse."

"Then ride with me," He said. "Donovan can carry both of us. And come on, Lilly. We're talking about _Aslan_ here. He can't hold a grudge even if his life depended on it. By next morning, you two will be the best of friends again that I can promise you."

"Alright," Lilly said with a laugh. "I'll come along, but only if Sir Gilsdorf allows me."

"Agreed." the squire smiled, his icy blue eyes melting with warmth.


	16. The First Chase

Next day, a couple hours past dawn (which came later here in Elysium) the camp was bustling with excitement like it was the first day of the journey again. Only this time everyone had a slept well and were given a good breakfast. Charon had asked if Lilly was allowed to join the hunt and by claiming that the young gardener was an expert in the art of tracking, Lilly was granted right. However, everyone who recognized Lilly better than the level of 'I see that girl in the gardens sometimes' knew that the beautiful maiden was indeed no tracker of any sorts. The Prince apologized to his friend earlier that morning and all was settled between the two. It seems Charon had a hidden talent of making his promises come true.

Sir Gilsdorf arranged the four squires, Lilly, and Bailiff into a hunting party and were the first group to search the woods. Lilly rode with Charon while the other three rode on their steeds with the Talking Hound running in between the horses' legs.

The forest was large and painted with the richest green. Moss made home on almost every large tree trunk. The ground was moist with dew and the open areas of dirt squished in between the horses' hooves, which was a much nicer feeling than treading hot and hard stones. The sun rays squeezed through the cracks of treetops. Butterflies and bees buzzed around the enormous selection of flowers. Lilly could only describe the forest as a scene from an old fairytale she read when she was little. With all this peace and grass, Lilly thought there could be no way that the Stag could possibly leave a wood like this in haste (which the white beast was well known for.)

It must have been a good hour and a half that the little hunting party spent trudging along trying to find any sign of the Stag.

"Any heading Tomas?" Charon asked dully, who was slouched in his seat with his eyes half open.

"Nothing yet, the arrow is just spinning," Tomas sighed.

"Would that mean we aren't even close?" the Prince chimed in.

"I would assume that," Tomas replied.

Lilly had barely said anything the entire time. It seemed very awkward to her; being with all boys and being the only girl, save Morgan, in the group.

"Are _you_ at least enjoying yourself?" Charon asked, looking at his passenger out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm quite fine," She answered, not realizing her cheek was resting on the squire's shoulder. Alarmed, she rose her head at once and looked at the others too see if anyone had noticed. Only one seemed to. The Prince. Her face felt hot when he quickly jerked his head in the opposite direction, making it seem he wasn't staring in the first place, while his unfocused eyes slowly met the ground.

_How clever of him._ Lilly thought sarcastically about the blue-eyed squire. Now it made sense why after such a long time without speaking, Charon finally said: 'Are you at least enjoying yourself?'

"I got an idea!" Xavier exclaimed breaking the tedious silence. "How about we sing a song to keep us entertained?"

"No! No singing!" Charon protested. "Your voice sounds like a dying pig in a slaughter house."

"Your voice sounds like a crow with the flu." Xavier replied, making Charon's statement sound like a testimonial out of jealousy.

"That is not true, and a crow can't get the flu, unless it was a Talking---." The coal-haired squire's ramble was interrupted by Xavier's high, off key singing.

"_Oooh, We're in a forest and we're singing. _

_We're in a forest and we're singing. _

_The trees are green and the sky is blue..."_

As Xavier went on with his song, Charon rode up next to Aslan. "You don't happen to have that stone still on you, Aslan? I think I just found a use for it."

"I think it is a splendid idea! I feel as if I am going to die of boredom." Bailiff barked cheerfully and joined in Xavier's song with his deep howling.

"You two are going to scare the Stag away singing like that!" Lilly laughed in unison with the Prince's gentle chuckle.

Xavier continued into the second verse of his song.

"_ I see the Stag. It is over there staring at us._

_ I don't think it knows we're hunting it. _

_ Charon, I think you should get your lasso ready so we can catch it_

_ And take it home to Mohthelieum so we can become knights."_

"Please, don't include me in your songs." Charon requested putting his hand on his forehead.

"He speaks the truth," Bailiff said, stopping his gay howls of song . "Look to the west, by the creek." No doubt, once they all looked they saw the great white deer standing in the distance, lapping water from a glittering stream.

"Charon," Tomas whispered. "Give me the lasso, Bailiff and I can chase after it."

"You know there are _four_ squires, Tomas." the coal-haired squire stated angrily. "If we want to catch it, we're working together. Otherwise, I will lay down my sword and will find some other way to receive my spurs."

"I agree with Charon," Xavier added.

"Fine," Tomas said looking to Aslan and in a acrid tone asked: "Do you have any ideas, Aslan? You have been quiet for most of the journey. Certainly you have pondered up a plan to capture the Stag?"

Bailiff's howl echoed through the peaceful woods. The White Stag, rose its great head from its drinking and noticed the brown and black hound coming its way, barking madly with his pink tongue lolling out of a gaped mouth. Fright overcame the great white beast and it jumped over the creek toward the hound and then ran the other direction, causing the mad dog to change course, which would slow him down. The thunder of hooves throbbed in the Stag's ears. There was a whole party! When it turned its head it noticed a big black horse riding a few yards beside it, and upon this black horse was a blonde haired man with a silver circlet that glistened in the sun. This was the same hunter from the other day!

The Stag felt a nip at its heel, the hound was right at it's hooves! Thinking quickly, it gracefully leaped up back over the stream again and rushed into the thicket as fast as it could. The turn was too sharp for Bailiff to make and he landed head over paws into a muddy part of the bank. The horses ran through the cold water and pursued after their game in the thicket.

"Tomas!" came the Prince's sharp cry. Immediatley, the squire flew past Aslan and took lead of the hunting party. Charon and Xavier flanked him. The Prince was now in the back with the muddy hound.

"Bailiff, catch up with the others, you'll need to track the Stag for them." Aslan ordered. With an consenting bark, the hound sprinted up and next to Tomas' galloping horse.

At that moment, white flashed in front of Morgan, startling her. The mare gave a loud whinny as she rose onto her back legs. The Stag went in the completely wrong direction that was predicted. Now, it was traveling towards the camp while the rest of the party went North.

"Whoa Morgan!" The Prince yelled pulling her reins to the right, the way the Stag ran off to. The mare's front hooves hit the ground hard and she quickly did as her rider told.

The new plan was for Morgan and the Prince to follow the Stag and force it to go back towards the other squires. Thanks to the black mare's incredible resilience, she was able to keep up with the Stag's mad sprint.

"We're close to the others now," the Prince murmured encouragingly to his horse. "I can hear the horns."

Morgan only responded with a fast nod and then began to pick up speed again. The white beast then leaped over a hedge and ran off towards the sound of the bugles. The black horse slackened her pace as she came up to the large bush the Stag just jumped. Her heavy pants made her sides heave.

"Shall we follow?'' She asked in between her violent pants.

"Easy," Her rider said softly, patting her shoulder. "I'll let you catch your breath first. Then we'll find the others, hopefully with Stag in hand."

"My breath is caught," She said, trying to cover up her tired voice. Without any hassle, the black mare jumped over the bush and followed the now distant noise of hoof beats.

Horse and rider went on at a quick gallop to find the rest of their hunting party. There had been no sign of them for awhile and the sound of hooves and bellowing bugles had now faded off. Morgan's nose was what was leading them now, deeper and deeper into the thicket.

The Prince began to feel his head aching. A pain that felt all too familiar from before. "Oh no," was what he muttered as he realized what was happening.

Just as before, his senses were dulled, his eye vision blurred. Images began popping up in his mind.

The Stag. Running, its beady eyes were tired but filled with terror. Then a noose came over head and caught the neck of the white beast. As it jerked back violently by the force of the rope; another person came into view. Tomas. He had caught the Stag! Slowly, the squire bent down and began to pet the beast's white nose. The great deer seemed to be in some sort of trace. Had Tomas stolen Charon's lasso? Or had Charon given it to him so he could catch it? The dark-eyed squire bent down to the Stag's ear and mumbled something that the vision did not allow Aslan to hear, and then he pulled the lasso over the Stag's head and it quickly ran off. The Prince saw the look on Tomas' face, it was no look of pity for the life the Stag led or compassion for the exhausted beast, it was a shadowed face. One with a wicked white smile that reminded the Prince of someone that's name shall not be mentioned for according to higher rule, it is not a name to be mentioned anywhere; even at the dinner table.

Aslan's senses once again came back to him and he was now more confused then ever. _It cannot be true. Tomas wouldn't just let the Stag go. He wishes to become a knight just as much as any of us. There must be some explanation---_. His thoughts were interrupted by a gentle voice calling his name. There was Lilly, standing just below him, her hand on the stirrup.

"Aslan? You look unwell. Are you alright?" She asked calmly.

"I thought you were riding with Charon." Aslan stated when he departed from his thoughts.

"We caught up with you and Morgan while we were trying to find Tomas. I asked Charon to leave me, you looked sick enough to fall off of the saddle." the maiden explained in a voice as soothing and fine as a cool ocean breeze on a warm summer day.

"Come," the Prince urged reaching his hand to her. "Show me which way Charon went. We need to find Tomas."

"You sound anxious, Aslan. He's not in trouble is he?" Lilly asked nervously.

"I'm not exactly sure." was the Prince's response. Without further questioning, the girl took his hand and sat behind him on the saddle. Her arms reached around his waist and clasped tight when Morgan began her swift gallop.

"There you two are!" Xavier exclaimed with a smile, seeing Morgan carrying Lilly and Aslan.

"Did you find Tomas?" was the first question the Prince asked. His answer came when the squire emerged from the brush on his upset stallion.

"Well? Where is it?" Charon asked, sounding impatient.

"I-I lost it in that thick bush of brambles." Tomas gasped in exhaustion. Aslan's eyes opened wide in dismay, though he held back his assumptions. He now had little doubt his vision deceived him. Tomas _had_ to have let the Stag escape.

"What?!" Charon exclaimed angrily. "How could it be? I saw you, Tom. You were right on top of the beast!"

"I do not know!" Tomas snapped. "I can't remember. I fell off my horse and hit the ground hard."

"You did?" Lilly asked suddenly attentive to what was being talked about. She slid off Morgan's saddle and walked up to Tomas. "Come, get off your horse, let me see if you have any injuries."

"I am not a baby you know," Tomas muttered.

"Tomas, do as she says!" Charon ordered, starting to become all too sick of the other squire's attitude.

Reluctantly, Tomas climbed out of his saddle and stood next to the maiden. Lilly pulled his brown bangs back to reveal a cut that went across half his forehead.

"You need to get to camp, Tomas. You may have had a concussion, and this cut doesn't look too good either." Lilly said with a sincere intelligence as she examined the red gash.

"I have the juice of Fire Flower on me," Aslan remarked handing her the red bottle. "If this will help you any better."

"It is Tomas' decision." She replied turning to the injured squire.

At first he looked fairly reluctant. For a moment he even looked as if he would have slapped the vial out of the Prince's hand. However, in the end he must have realized his friend was merely trying to help. "Thank you,'' the squire said quietly as he took the cordial from the Prince's hand and carefully let one drop spill into his mouth.

As he handed Aslan back the healing nectar, the Prince replied with a calm: "You're welcome." Nothing was making sense. In the vision Tomas looked evil and wicked and here he was acting like his old self again, which he hadn't been acting like recently. The Prince was starting to wonder if his headache was just a side effect from the vision or because of Tomas' extreme mood swings.

It was soon agreed that the party should return to camp and report to Sir Gilsdorf. Bailiff quickly took up the task of guiding the humans back the way they came. Lilly offered to ride Tomas' horse back to camp, but the squire refused her recommendation. She ended up riding with Charon again while Aslan rode alongside Tomas. All of them were silent until they finally reached the camp around the end of noon. Bailiff and Charon left to report to Sir Gilsdorf and Xavier decided to take the horses to their posts, leaving the other three humans behind.

"I'll just go to my tent," Tomas sighed. Lilly stood beside him. "I'm coming with you, despite drinking the Fire Flower juice you could still have a concussion." She turned to Aslan. "I hope you won't find yourself useless at the moment, my Prince."

"Not at all," He replied. "I was going to find my rascal of a brother and see what he's been up to while we were away."

"Poor Stelan," Lilly said through a sympathetic smile. "He must have wanted to go with us so badly."

"I'll meet you at my tent Lilly," Tomas stated as he walked off into the camp.

"I should catch up with him," the maiden said with a sigh, about to follow after him; only to find the Prince's hand holding her arm.

"Wait," He said pulling her back, accidentally bringing her very close.

"Yes?" Lilly gasped, now noticing her chest was less than a foot away from his own.

"I need to speak with you," the Prince said quietly, then added. "It is about Tomas."

The maiden's green eyes flushed with confusion. "What about him?"

"Something's wrong, he hasn't been acting himself since we started this hunting trip."

"Do you wish me to ask if anything is bothering him?"

"I would deeply appreciate it."

"Then I will ask him."

"Thank you," He murmured gently.

The young maiden smiled and slowly walked on after Tomas. The Prince stood by, watching her. Her light brown curls bounced after every poised step she took. It was a rather entrancing scene, one that the Prince found pleasure in watching. Though, he would not admit that he fancied her slow walk. Aslan was so focused on her that he didn't hear his brother calling him until Stelan decided to scream as loud as he possibly could in Aslan's ear.

"Wha--What?" the startled Prince stammered.

"I've been calling you and you stood there like a statue."

"Oh, forgive me, I--I was distracted for a moment."

"What were you looking at?" Stelan asked trying to spy what caused his brother to become so sidetracked.

The Prince glanced back down the path the beautiful maiden was just treading, only to find that she had vanished. With a heavy sigh, he answered Stelan's question.

"Nothing, I wasn't looking at anything."

**A/N: *slaps self on the forehead* I got to stop ending chapters with dialogue! Tell me what you think of it. **


	17. More Songs and a Pinecone

The rest of the day was given to our small hunting party to use at their leisure. Sir Gilsdorf sent out a few scouts to check the forest again, but came back with no news. Wherever the Stag was, it was deep in the forest.

The sun had risen and fell by now and mostly everyone was in their tent either turning in for the night or awake and speaking to anyone else who was awake. The Prince was one of those few who was still awake. Isolating himself from the camp and finding a small tree on a little hill to sit under.

The forest behind him was playing the melody of the night. Owls' hoots and crickets' chirps were in the air and the night breeze wisped between the trees. It was all a rather peaceful setting, one the Prince enjoyed very much. He set his golden gaze onto the full moon, who's pale white face shined down brightly on Elysium.

Aslan quickly scanned the area before him, no one was around. Not a soul was about to hear his secret. A song (or one may also call a lullaby) came into being under the small tree on the little hill. The Empress herself once sang this to her child when he still slept in his crib and was just learning to walk. The song had grown onto him, for the lullaby was about him.

_When newborn is lifted to the sky,  
By Spell of Nameless King; a vision of Hope in mind.  
Prints of lion on gold sand; golden name Royal Child shall have!  
Grief of Evil, Slayer of Serpent,  
Dark ones quiver where One's golden name reigns verdant!  
Alas for woeful serpent! Harmless his poison is rendered,  
Beneath the might of Golden One!_

_No more will be the Age of Darkness!_

_Gambol-friend of forest folk,  
Sight of Joy to all those beings fair,  
Close to the heart of Beauty Named One,  
One who is with hardy heart, by Beauty 'twas to be made tender. And Son of Ruler of all who are Men!_

The Prince's secret was his singing. It was voice so unique, so beautiful that it could leave people lost for words. It was a gift any singer or musician would wish to covet. Though, not many _did_ covet because so very few knew of the Prince's singing. It was not a talent needed for royalty nor for being a knight. There was really no use for it, yet whenever he had the chance, the Prince would utilize the opportunity to make use of his useless talent.

"Aslan? Is that you?" It was Lilly, her voice was filled with awe. His secluded spot was found, his secret let out.

"'Lil? I didn't hear you coming up. Did you hear all of that?"

"Almost. You sing wonderfully! Where has it been hiding all this time?" She said taking a seat next to the Prince.

"Just out of earshot," Aslan replied with a smile. "How did you find me?"

"I know you well enough that it be likely you would find the most remote area surrounding the camp and place yourself there for a long period of time. Isn't that how we met in the first place, my Prince?" They both let out a soft laugh which was then followed by silence.

"I talked to Tomas," Lilly began slowly, trying to start the conversation back up again. "He said he was alright, that nothing was wrong."

"I do not believe that." Aslan said with a shake of the head.

"Aslan, either you tell me or I'll have to force it out of you." Lilly pressed, then gently murmured. "Why do you think something is wrong with Tomas?"

The Prince was deciding whether or not to tell Lilly about his vision, she _was_ very good a keeping her promises. Aslan must have told her hundreds over the years and she never muttered a single one to anybody.

"I had a vision," he said, turning to his friend. Her eyes pleaded him to go on. "Earlier today, when Tomas claimed he didn't catch the Stag, my vision showed me that he did in fact catch the white beast...but he let it go. I could not make sense out of it 'Lil. I wanted to believe it wasn't true but recently I have been doubting his honesty."

"How so?" She asked.

"The first day, when I followed the Stag here, he lied about the heading his compass gave."

"But Tomas never lies..."

"Exactly. Then later that evening he alleged that I could not stand it if someone else has a more important task than I. That I show off how perfect I am to gain the preference of others." At this point he turned to his good friend, his golden eyes dulled with sadness. "Lilly, tell me the truth. Do I act in such a way?"

The maiden put her hand on his broad shoulder and looked at her saddened Prince straight in the eye. "No, Aslan. Never once have I seen you behave like that. You act out of the kindness of your heart, not out of pride. Why would Tomas even dare say something like that? He knows that whatever you do you always mean well. A blind man could see that."

He turned his head to her, his face expressed pure admiration for her sweet words." Bless you Swanwhite," the Prince said softly. "No other has given me more compassion than thee."

"Do not think any of it, my friend. I only spoke what I found truthful." was her reply. The Prince said nothing in reply, but only stared at her. His unchanging eyes relaxed and shining bright in the milky moonlight. She found herself resting her head against his strong chest, the sound of his beating heart humming in her ears. The Prince's fingers entwined with her own as their hands became one. She felt his head gingerly lean against her own, his warm, sweet smelling breath blowing through her silky hair like wind in a canyon.

"We should return to camp," the Prince murmured in her curls. "The others may start to wonder what has become of us." Then added seeing her mouth gape wide in a yawn : "And we will need the rest."

Lilly desperately wanted to refuse. She hoped that this moment was one of those glitches in time that conveniently makes a minute pass like an hour. Time did not approve of her hopes. The Prince took her hands and pulled her up off the ground and slowly the two of them made their way back to the now slumbering encampment.

"That was an excellent shot!" came the praise of the coal-haired squire. Lilly lowered her bow and saw the arrow had nearly hit the center of the target.

"I forgot to open my other eye at the last second," She sighed, not very enthusiastic of her shot. "I would have been able to make it if I did so."

"You're just learning 'Lil." Charon explained. "You're not going to hit the bulls-eye on your first try! That shot was good even for a beginner, you must have a natural talent in archery."

"I can't believe you actually talked me into trying this," Lilly laughed, restringing her bow. "Aslan has tried so many times and had never persuaded me to do so."

"He wouldn't want to force _you_ into doing something you did not wish to do." Charon replied. Her eyes went wide in aggravation.

Looking at the squire, she said sharply: "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Noticing what he said offended her, Charon thought quickly of what he could say to calm her down. "Nothing, that is not how I meant it. " Though in reality, it actually was. "Just take the shot. If this was a moving target, you would have missed your chance ages ago! You mustn't be distracted by anything around you, your only focus should be on your target."

Lilly did as told in a rather angry haste, and in doing so she completely missed and the arrow went flying behind the target.

"Calm yourself down. You'll never hit the blasted thing if you act on blind rage!" Charon scolded.

Calmer now, Lilly strung her bow, took aim and this time hit the dead center of the bulls-eye.

"See?" came the squires voice.

"I _do_ see," Lilly said happily, proud that she finally made a good shot. "Lilly," Charon asked slowly. "May I ask you something?"

She turned back around again and walked toward her archery teacher.

"Yes, Charon?" she said calmly, leaning against her longbow.

"Where were you last night, I couldn't find you anywhere in the camp."

Worried that he might have found out about her and the Prince last night, she tried to convince him otherwise. "I'm sorry you couldn't find me. I was walking through the forest yesterday, there were some flowers I noticed during that morning that I wanted to take a closer look at."

"Don't try to lie to me Lilly, many know about you two. It would be best to come clean about it now rather than later."

"Shut up, Charon. You should not be talking, almost twice as many people know about your passion for that Lord's daughter from Claredinsmore."

"I no longer feel a passion for that Lady," Charon denied. "I did not wish you to get defensive, Lilly. I wanted to help you."

"With _what_?" Lilly asked angrily.  
"You want the Prince more than anything," Charon said quietly, almost a whisper. "I know it, you know it, and you want Aslan to know it. Don't you?"

She did not reply, but her blushing cheeks gave the squire his answer.

"You are already very close, 'Lil. If you just let me aid you, you could---."

"Enough! Stop it!" She cried shoving him away. "I don't want anything more to do with it. The Prince is my friend, nothing more. Just because we are together a lot does not mean we are in love! We have been friends for many years, Charon. If he did have an infatuation for me, don't you think he would have told me by now? Please, stop trying to help with something that does not even exist."

The squire lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry, I did not want to upset you."

Lilly turned her head away, and then aimed for an enormous pine tree a good hundred yards behind the target.

"If I hit that pinecone, I'll stay in camp and you drop this whole matter I miss, I go with you again to find the Stag. " She said.

He followed her arrow's point to small pine cone on one of the top branches of the old tree. "It is a deal then, go on shoot." Charon said, sounding confident she would miss the target.

The arrow flew through the air as swift as a bird of prey, and with a loud _thunk!_ the pine cone came crashing down to the grassy earth.

**A/N: The song Aslan sings at the beginning of the chapter was written by ****LstC3ltacorn****. I am absolutely terrible at songwriting and they were nice enough to write a song for me. All credit for the song goes to them and I like to thank LastCeltacorn for writing such awesome lyrics for it. So...Thank you! **


	18. Second Day of Searching

_I can't believe she actually hit that stupid pinecone._ Charon thought, grumbling to himself. Being a boy, it was almost a natural instinct to be embarrassed when a girl wins a bet. Call it sexist, but at this age many boys still hate losing to a girl. Especially in a situation when a girl only had about an hour experience in archery and was able to hit a small target that was yards away.

The same group from yesterday, though absent two members, made quick haste to the babbling creek where they found the Stag the other day. Bailiff scampered ahead of the horses and began to nose around the moist ground.

"Oh, he's been back here alright! He must've returned here after we chased him to the other side of the forest. Fool of a deer it is, to come all the way back here after getting the run of its life. It was lucky we didn't retreat back to this spot when it returned, then it would have felt like a _really_ stupid deer!" Bailiff said to himself, nose still glued to the ground.

"I wish Tom was here," Xavier sighed unenthusiastically to his fellow squires. "We would have gotten a heading faster with his compass."

Feeling insulted, Bailiff growled a retort to the knight-to-be. "My nose is as good as any magic compass! Come, this way now. Ho! Humans, let us hurry. Yesterday perhaps the Stag slipped from our hands but not this day!" The hound began running upstream, with the humans and their horses following close behind.

Bailiff took the party far up the creek, even past where the creek ended, and into a very roomy part of the forest. The trees here were very far apart, making this one of the sunnier spots in the whole wood.

"I think you have led us to the opposite border of the forest, Bailiff." Morgan stated to the dog.

"The Stag went this way, my nose has never failed me before." the hound said reassuring the mare. His nose did not fail them. The Prince's sharp eye was the first to catch sight of the white beast, who was innocently walking through the huge green gale before them, completely unaware of the hunting party's presence.

"Should we follow the same plan as last time?" Charon asked, looking at both Xavier and Aslan for the answer.

"If the Stag is as smart as people say," Xavier began. "Then it may already think we would use the same strategy again, therefore able to escape from us."

"I agree, that sounds reasonable." came Xavier's own stallion's whinny.

"We should not change all of it," the Prince remarked, his eye still focused on the unwary Stag. "But only change the trap. We are short a man, energy should not be wasted on a totally new plan that could be impossible for us to do with just three horses and a hound."

The three squires stood at the edge of the forest, figuring a new strategy that would catch the Stag once and for all. After some debate, Charon's plan came out to be the easiest and most likely to work.

The Prince left Morgan with the squires and ran back into the woods, he hid behind the largest tree trunk he first came across and waited there for the others.

Bailiff, this time, approached the Stag quietly. The pads on his paws made no sound as he moved through the tall grass of the meadow (which practically concealed him from the white deer's sight). The hound was downwind from the Stag, giving him the chance to move in close to the beast without it catching his scent. Bailiff crouched, his belly just touching the ground. He was but two feet away from his target. Now, was his chance.

The hound let out a furious bark, which petrified the Stag stiff. It turned its great head to the dog, who's white teeth were bared in a low growl. The great deer appeared to have a sudden surge of courage as it lowered its head and with its long, sharp antlers challenged the hound.

Bailiff refused to back down and with a quick bark accepted the Stag's challenge. The hound darted into the long grass once more when the deer ran straight at him. Confused on where the dog went, the Stag stopped his charge and rose his large head over the grass to find his opponent. Bailiff popped out again this time snapping at the white beast's leg. A thin line of blood stuck out like a sore thumb upon the pure white coat of the deer. One of the hound's teeth caught the leg. Although it was not an injury that would lame the Stag, it was enough to shrink away the confidence it had before and send it running towards the woods. It ran swiftly in between the trees, attempting to make distance between itself and the hound. Only to find it ran into more trouble by running back through the woods.

Xavier and Morgan were following beside it and the unsaddled Morgan behind, just in case the deer decided to change direction on her again. The two squires led the Stag deeper into the woods, closer and closer to the Prince.

Aslan peeked his head from behind his hiding spot, peering down the direction the Stag should be coming. His hand quivered with anticipation upon a large protruding root that stretched far onto the green pathway.

The distant sound of hooves finally faded into the quiet air. The Prince grabbed tight onto the root. His eyes slowly shut, his lips beginning to mouth undeterminable words. As he continued the spell, the root rose off the ground until it was far enough off the ground to trip, well, a Stag. His part was only this, and now al he had to do was wait for the white beast to come tumbling towards him. The Prince peered back out again, there was still no sign of the others yet the hoof beats were getting closer.

_I should see them by now._ the Prince thought. By chance after he reflected this, the white deer whooshed past him. As planned the Stag's front legs caught the root and it toppled over and landed on its side. Charon's horse caught sight of the root and flawlessly jumped over the obstacle as did Xavier's horse. Charon threw his lasso to the deer's neck. Aslan breathed a sigh of relief. Now that the Stag was under their control, they would finally catch the white beast and then be dubbed knights.

However, that happy thought soon fade away when the Prince realized there was another lasso, on the opposite side of Charon's own that was flying through the air. Both nooses caught the Stag's neck simultaneously. The squires disbelieved eyes followed the other rope to find a man, about twice their age, mounted upon a cream stallion. Surrounding him, were his posse of hunters all of them older than our squires.

"Oh look at this men," came the man that held the lasso. "We finally caught this annoyance of a Stag. My goodness, I am just about famished from being in the woods so long searching for it."

"_You_ caught it?" Charon snapped, dismounting his horse. "No, _we_ were the ones that caught it!"

''Who is this boy who so rudely interrupts my speech?" came the man's arrogant tone.

"The boy who has just noticed that that horse (eyeing the man's stallion) has two asses instead of one." Charon remarked, crossing his arms as he heard the soft snickers from the hunters with this man.

"Do you know to whom you speak?" came the man's angered voice, sounding more whiny than furious. "I am Prince Demitron! Lord over all of the Dorchester Shire!"

"I am Charon, son of Lord Nicholas who sits in the Great Council of the Great Emperor, Kalecgos." was the coal-haired squire's reply.

"I am Xavier," came Xavier's voice, walking up next to Charon. "Son of Marcus and Artemis who are also councilors for the Great-Emperor-Beyond-the -Sea."

The Prince was last to step up. Charon and Xavier looked for his overall powerful name to send this other prince into submission. "I am Prince Aslan. Son of the Great-Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea, Kalecgos, and the Great -Empress-Beyond-the-Sea, Anveena." Then turning to the Stag, who still laid on the forest floor, said: "And the white beast which you so arrogantly claim to be yours (though the Stag does not truly have a master) was rightfully caught by us."

"Prince A-s-slan?" Prince Demitron said pronouncing his name rather inappropriately, putting great stress over the 'Ass' sound. As we can see there is an ongoing joke with the term 'ass'.

"Ah, yes. You are the heir to the Mohthelieum throne. Such a big title for such a young child as you."

"I am almost twenty," the Prince muttered under his breath.

"I fail to agree with you, Prince." Demitron sighed in a sarcastic sadness. "This Stag is on my land, so I declare it mine."

"The land that is yours was bestowed onto you by your fore fathers, who received this land by the Nameless Emperor. By the Nameless Emperor's grace I have born into a family closest to his divine self and my family rules_ over_ your lands...and all others."

"If you are of such a noble race, show us a miracle, boy. I have heard the prophecy. Come on Second Jesu!" He jeered to Aslan.

"I am not here for your entertainment." the Prince said holding back his anger as best as he could. "I am here for the Stag."

"If you want it so badly take it from me." Demitron gloated. "No, no wait! I have a much better idea! Why don't we fight a joust for it?"

The Prince thought about the offer. Despite how much of a spoiled fool this other prince looked, the man was much older than the Aslan's self, and may possibly have more experience with a sword at that. With a shift of the eyebrow, he questioned his friends if they approved the challenge. Both looked at him with the same expression. _We want the Stag._

"I accept," Aslan answered.

"Delightful," Prince Demitron said clapping his hands together. "My house is just beyond that meadow. The match shall take place in the yards behind my castle. If anyone asks you your business, just tell them you come on behalf of myself. Come later this afternoon, after suppertime."

"It is a deal then," Prince Aslan said taking Prince Demitron's hand and shaking the agreement.

Charon reluctantly took his noose off the white beast and Prince Demitron along his group of huntsmen, disappeared with the Stag.

"That man certainly does not act his age. A thirty year old man should be more mature than to make fun of others younger than he. Especially the Heir to the Mohthelieum throne!" Bailiff huffed pushing through the horses' feet.

"It is because he has been spoiled worse than a king's housecat." the Prince remarked climbing into Morgan's saddle. "Come, we should tell Sir Gilsdorf what has happened."

Upon returning the three squires demanded the whereabouts of Sir Gilsdorf. Lilly, Stelan, and Tomas wished to know why there was the sudden urge of the Knight's presence and followed the three boys to Sir Gilsdorf's tent.

"_This_ afternoon, my boys?" came the cool tone of the Knight who was sitting in a comfortable wooden chair. He held his hands in front of his face, musing over the story his squires had just told him.

"Yes sir," Xavier replied clearly.

Sir Gilsdorf's expression at this moment in time was very unreadable. Even the squires, who knew practically any habits of his that could indicate his emotion, were unsure of what their teacher was thinking. However, they knew well enough that when in doubt, keep as serious as possible on the matter of which is being spoken about.

The Knight's eyes flashed over to his guests. "It was smart of you to act the way you did," Sir Gilsdorf stated impassively. "You were outnumbered, and you handled the situation in the most peaceful way possible. Excellent work, squires." A compliment instead of a harsh critique, the three boys let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"However, now we are to deal with the situation you brought us into," And just like that he was back to his normal self. "Any suggestions?" His eyes focused on his students.

Tomas was first to respond. "Perhaps some of the knights can come with us? And the centaurs? We do not know how trustworthy this prince is."

"He never _did_ say that we couldn't bring an audience to watch." Charon said, liking Tomas' idea.

"What about the Stag? What Tomas says is true, we shouldn't plan on him keeping his word." Xavier added. "We should have a strategy to steal the Stag back."

"But if we are caught in the act of stealing, it would be tainting our honor." Aslan remarked.

"Why don't we get someone to go and search for it? So, we know where it is being kept and if Prince Demitron taints his own honor we can take it later." Charon recommended.

For a good while the four squires, the other two stowaways, and Sir Gilsdorf were strategizing for this afternoon's joust match.

The only matter that Prince Aslan felt they did not cover fairly well was that of: _What would we do if the Prince loses more than just the match?_

**A/N: Another lame ending! Aren't I just predictable? Finals are taking up SO much of my time, I just wanted to get this chapter over a done with, I can bet there's a good two or three grammatical errors floating around in the chapter somewhere. **


	19. They Came From the Blackness

A huge white owl glided nimbly through the air. Her keen eyes were focused on the enormous gap of green meadow far below her talons. She was searching for something. Two sharp screeches came from her beak as she dived down to the green earth to get a better look. She found a large mass of people, led by a boy on a black horse; exactly what she was looking for.

"Aslan," the she-owl panted, gracefully perching herself on his thick gauntlet.

"What did you find?"

"I flew over the jousting field. It is nothing out of the ordinary, however I am afraid he had the same plan of bringing an audience too. He has a large pavilion in place that can seat probably most of the village."

"Where is he keeping the Stag?"

The owl's deep, green eyes looked to him with uneasiness. "He has it well hidden," She began. " That is why it took me so long to reach you. The Stag is in another courtyard, on the opposite side of the castle, far away from the jousting field. It is penned up in a makeshift fence of brambles and thorn branches. I could barely see its white fur, that is how thick the brambles and branches are."

"Xavier," the squire threw over the magic set of reins to the Prince, who showed it to the owl. "Once we get to the castle, I want you to find the pen again, put this on the Stag and on signal, break it free." The she-owl blinked her understanding.

"What has become of my clothes?" She asked, looking about anyone who had a dress laying on their saddle.

"You'll have to do with men's clothes for the time being, Lilly," the Prince said handing her a sack which contained a tunic and hunting pants.

"I'll be back in a moment," the owl sighed grabbing the bag with her talons and flying off into the forest, where no one could see her changing.

After crossing the meadow, the small assembly was able to see Prince Demitron's castle. It was not a very pretty looking structure, it looked rather old and rustic, like a prison. In fact, most of the land surrounding his home was grey and muggy as if it had rained just a few moments ago. It also was home to a very unwelcoming bunch of people. Children in the town, who were playing at their doorsteps stopped and stared at this clan of strangers. Some of the men murmured amongst each other or to their wives, unsure what to make of these newcomers.

"They must think us some enemy army coming to invade the castle," Tomas said softly to Charon.

"We have a crowd with us, but not that big of a crowd." the coal-haired squire remarked taking little notice of the villagers' stares.

As the Prince found himself at the gates of the castle he noticed little to no kind of protection outside its walls. No moat, no drawbridge, the castle had spiral roofs which also meant there were no sentry platforms either. The only security standing in Prince Aslan's way of Prince Demitron was a huge set of wooden doors that was guarded by two soldiers.

"Halt!" One cried running up to this strange set of newcomers. "What is your business here?"

_Prince Demitron should really take it into consideration of making his soldiers more intimidating. _Aslan thought observing this fellow. The man before him was short, very thin and looked to have no muscle underneath his uniform. Not to sound smug, but the Prince was very confident he could let out a puff of air and the man would fall over.

"I am here on behalf of your master, Prince Demitron."

"Prince Aslan, are you?" the soldier asked.

"That is what they call me." was the reply.

"Ah, so you have come!" The buttery voice sounded all too familiar. There was Prince Demitron, riding up upon his own horse with a welcoming smile upon his fat face. "Shall I lead you to...oh, I did not expect you'd bring guests, my Prince."

"You never said he couldn't bring an audience." Charon yelled from the far side of the group.

"True, " the prince said slowly, clearly realizing it was the voice of the boy who so greatly insulted him earlier. " I suppose I lacked in mentioning that. Well, no matter. Come, I shall lead you to your tent."

Aslan dismounted Morgan and stood beside Lilly. "It is time," he whispered to her.

"Now? I won't be able to see you joust."

"Lillian," the Prince answered both with gentleness and annoyance. "Don't worry about it. What matters is getting that white beast and taking it back home."

The girl placed her hand on his arm. Her eyes gleaming with extreme concern for her Prince. "Please, be careful." she murmured. One talent Lilly had was that she could read his feelings like a book...a book she had read multiple times over. Aslan had a feeling Lilly already knew he was tense and nervous about the joust.

"As always," the Prince replied with little enthusiasm, putting the magic reins in her hand. "Now hurry, before the soldiers notice you!" And with that, off ran the gardener's daughter, past the entrance to the castle and over the castle wall.

The party Aslan had brought along with him was seated in the pavilion. Only the squires followed him into the large tent he was given to suit up for the competition.

"You look as fat as Bacchus on Lamma's Eve." Charon laughed, seeing the Prince in his full suit of body amour.

"Nnnmmf mmmmrrr meme...Tmmmmass!" The visor on the Prince's helmet was down so his statement was rather difficult to understand. The only word that one could make sense out of was 'Tmmmmass." Immediatley, the squire lifted up the helmet so the Prince's face was once again visible. "None of his suits of armor fit me." he said. ''I can barely stand up in this thing."

"Why don't you just shrink it down to size?" Xavier asked.

"I would if I could lift my arm up."

"I got it," Tomas said placing his palms on the chest plate. As quickly as the squire placed his hands on the metal, the armor shrank down to perfectly fit the Prince's thinner frame.

"Thank you," the Prince said with a sigh, stretching his numbed arms awake. Tomas simply nodded and walked back to sit with the other squires. Charon was next to get up and hand his Prince a lance. Its pattern looked quite similar to that of peppermint candies. A swirled design of red and white with a sharp, golden butt to cover the tip of the lance.

"Hold on a moment," Aslan said taking the wooden spear into his hands. The squires watched in disbelief at how easily the Prince was able to snap the lance in half, as if it was a dry old stick.

"It seems he attempted to give me a dud," He did not appear surprised that he would be given a bad stick. Placing the two snapped pieces back together, he gave the lance back its whole form now making it more durable and painted maroon and gold. The peppermint candy pattern was not appealing to the Prince's taste.

The four boys heard an angry bray come from outside the tent. _Morgan._ Aslan thought as he stepped out of his tent to see what she had gotten herself into now. A thin servant (who Aslan thought to be a miracle he could actually hold her back) restrained the strong, black mare as Prince Demitron's white stallion stood a few feet away with a smirk on his lips.

"You arrogant brat!" Morgan neighed. "It is fairly easy to tell where you get your manners from."

"I was simply stating the obvious," the white stallion said innocently. "A mare has no chance of winning a joust."

"And judging by your health," the black mare whinnied, staring at a rather large bulk of underbelly fat that hung out from the belt of the saddle. "You don't have that much of a chance either."

"Morgan," the Prince called, a warning in his tone.

"All mares are good for is a call to spring fever and producing more of us stallions to over dominate you as we always have."

A furious whinny came from Morgan. That was the last straw. She pulled the servant off her reins and tried to make a charge for the stallion. I say 'tried' for Aslan snatched up her reins right before she got close enough to the other horse.

"Let go!" She exclaimed.

"Morgan!" the Prince yelled, pulling her head away from the stallion and toward his face. "This is not the time to be doing this! Come, MORGAN COME!" He jerked her reins in the other direction away from the prince's steed. The black mare remained in a furious state of quiet as her rider dressed her in her own armor.

Prince Demitron had made this joust rather extravagant, but then _that _would be fairly predictable. One of his lords presented the two competitors and acted as a sort of referee for the match. "The joust ends when the other opponent surrenders. No magic is allowed to be used at anytime during the match, immediate surrender will be the consequence to the fool who cheated. The prize is the infamous White Stag, which if caught, can grant wishes. Riding upon his great white stallion, in the royal colors of Dorchester (which were black and purple), our beloved lord and master: The Lord of all Dorchester and beyond! Prince Demitron!" As the prince trotted out onto the field the section of the pavilion which consisted of his fans caved into giving a polite and quiet clap. He took it as complete idolization and kissed and waved his thanks. "And his competitor," the lord went on. "The son of The Great-Emperor-Beyond-The-Sea, who rides in maroon and gold upon his black mare. Prince Aslan!" A roar of applause succeeded as the young Prince rode onto the field. A smile bent his lips when he saw Xavier, Tomas, and Charon all standing up and screaming as loud as their throats allowed them to, and Sir Gilsdorf smacking each of them on the back of the head to stop screaming so obnoxiously. Only one's support was greatly missed. Stelan. The younger prince was unfortunately left behind at the camp for safety purposes. The Prince only wished he could see his brother in the stands beside the squires. His big, jade eyes beaming with pride. Nevertheless, he could not focus on such things. His main priority now was what stood a hundred meters away from him.

The two princes took their place on the field. Prince Demitron stood on the left of the divider, and our Prince on the right. Both held their lances up, each directed at the other's tiny wooden shield. Morgan let out a hard snort, and stamped her heavy hoof in the dirt.

"Do me a favor, aim for the fat pig of which his rider calls a 'stallion'," She said with pure spite in her voice

"I do not think that is legal," her rider said sadly.

"Then leave me to deal with it,"

"I don't want you getting focused on what he said, Morgan! Focus on keeping us alive in this, not getting revenge for insults." His horse tilted her head in reluctant agreement.

The lord who had presented the two competitors earlier now placed himself on the far side of the field, close to the pavilion. He rose a white handkerchief into the air. The Prince could hear his heart racing. His stomach felt that it was full of some sort of bubbling acid. From the little vision he had through the visor of his helmet, he could see his opponent. He thought of all those he knew, his parents, brother, friends, and teachers. How all of them maybe taken away from him if this match goes wrong. That sudden last-minute feeling of regret overcame him, he wished he hadn't made the bet in the first place.

Prince Demitron's lord rose his arm, a white handkerchief in hand. Both competitors waited for the cue. One finger, than the other, until the small white piece of linen fell slowly onto the dirty ground.

Once the marker hit the earth, Aslan wasted no time. He kicked Morgan's side and she went off in a mad dash. The Prince cocked the lance up higher, still trying to keep his aim on the small shield Prince Demitron had on. For the spectators, the whole thing happened in moments. But as for the riders, every moment felt like a minute. Wooden splinters flew into the air. Aslan felt Prince Demitron's lance hit his shield, the force jerked him to the edge of his saddle, nearly onto Morgan's bear hips. However, he caught a glimpse of his own damage. The Prince hit Demitron's shield in the dead center and was able to shatter the pathetic plank of wood to pieces. He also caught sight of his opponent sliding off the saddle. Had he hit him hard enough that he would fall off the horse?

Not until the two horses were on opposite sides of the field again did time finally catch up to the princes. Both of the competitors' shields and lances were broken. Aslan was upset to find Prince Demitron still in his saddle, but was shocked to see that the white stallion he rode had a huge cut running from its forehead down to its muzzle. The horse whinnied in pain and alarm.

_How in the world-? _The Prince then remembered placing a shaffron on Morgan to protect her face. He remembered it had a tiny, but sharp horn sticking out from where her forehead would be. Aslan leaned over to find blood dripping on the end of the metal horn.

"I told you I would deal with it." Morgan said, sounding proud at the damage she had done.

"Wait momentarily, my Prince!" called Prince Demitron, sliding out his saddle to observe his horse's face. "It seems I may need a substitute horse."

"Duel!" cried a voice from the pavilion. Soon, the entire audience rang the chant loud and clear through the air: "Duel! Duel! Duel!"

"What is the matter, Prince Demitron?" said the Prince, noticing the startled look on his opponent's face. "Are you afraid to fight someone half your age?"

"Nay!" the man exclaimed unsheathing his sword and pointing it directly at Aslan. "I never back down from such taunts. I will make you choke on those words, boy!"

Quickly, the Prince dismounted his mare and also unsheathed his sword.

XXXX

Lilly returned to the pavilion to find no horses on the field but to find Prince Demitron and Prince Aslan fighting each other in hand-to-hand combat. Not being present earlier made this whole scene rather confusing to her.

"'Lil!" Tomas called out running up to the maiden. "Did you get the reins on the Stag?"

"What happened?" she asked. Completely ignoring Tomas' question.

"Morgan injured Demitron's horse and the audience demanded the contest continue with a duel."

The girl ran up to a boundary fence that had a clear view of the fight going on. Tomas came up beside her. "Did you get the reins on the Stag?"

"Yes, now will you stop asking me?" she snapped, trying to focus on the fight.

Lilly noticed all of her Prince's attacks were being easily blocked by Prince Demitron. Though, Aslan did not fail in dodging the attacks brought onto him. The maiden only assumed the Prince was using such simple attacks because he was still trying to find a weak spot to get at.

_Smack! _The crowd gasped as Prince Demitron's helmet flew off his head and rolled to a stop in the dirt. Aslan had taking his fist (which also clenched his sword) and swung it right across Demitron's face. There was an uneasy pause as the man rubbed his red, sweaty cheek.

In that moment of break, the Prince himself took off his own helmet. His messy gold hair sagged from the form of the helmet and dripped at the ends from sweat. "I'm sorry but you deserved that." he panted, referring to the hard slap he had just given his opponent.

An angry growl came from Demitron's clenched teeth, he face grew red in fury. The Prince had succeeded in making the man fly into a blind rage, which can be handled in two different ways. One, the person literally becomes blind and cannot even focus what is going on before them. Or two, the rage whets their skill. In this case, it was unfortunately number two. Mad swings flew this was and that, and all of them were gracefully hindered by Aslan.

Then, the one instant when the Prince lost his guard, Prince Demitron made his blow. The blade sliced an open part of chain mail on the Prince's arm.

"Oh no," the maiden gasped, now very fretful for her friend. His arm remained straight and limp on his side. It must have hurt to much to move. The Prince kept on his guard as Demitron kept on his swinging.

Suddenly, things started to look hopeful for Aslan. Demitron swung to the left, away from his target leaving his body open for assault. With a hard kick to the gut, the man stumbled backwards and lay on the ground. This was the Prince's chance! The squires would finally get the Stag! They would finally become knights!

_Thwang!_ A confused silence imbibed the air that was just moments ago filled with screaming and yelling. There, Prince Demitron lay dead with a arrow shot through his checkered tunic into his heart.

XXXX

Aslan blinked in disbelief. His opponent was _dead_. An arrow interfered with the match. Slowly, he approached the corpse of the prince. The arrow was made out of some dark wood, and its flights were black with a stripe of an ugly shade of purple. Then, a feature caught his eye. A tiny piece of parchment was tied onto the arrow's shaft. _Was this an assassination plot?_ was the thought that came into his mind as the Prince untied the string and read what the paper said.

There was no writing only a simple sketch that was freshly drawn on by black ink. Its long, narrow figure curved around, making the shape of a circle in the middle of its body. It's head was to the side, fangs bared and its tongue long and thin with a divot that cut the tongue off into two little tongues.

A snake.

The Prince's eyes widened in horror. No other image could send him into such a panic than that picture of a snake. A voice then came into Aslan's mind. It was harsh and piercing like that of a harpy's call, only this one was much more sinister. And the Prince knew who it was.

_It _was_ an assassination plot...but it seems my archer missed his target. Perhaps the others shall be more accurate._ "Others?" the Prince muttered in fright.

The raspy voice of Sir Gilsdorf unexpectedly caught Aslan's ears. "Flee peasants, flee! A darkness is about to strike! RUN! My men, prepare for the battle of your-."

The Prince did not hear the rest of his teacher's sentence. He had turned his head to the opposite side of the jousting field, only to see a nightmare brought to life. An army of darkness, with weapons drawn, began to charge at their last obstacle to total power over all the Realms. The Second Jesu.

**A/N: I finished writing this chapter at 11:00 last night and this morning I spent about an hour and a half fixing it. It seems writing at night is not good for me. Well, I now gave three people something they recommended me adding into the chapter. Prince Demitron getting slapped in the face and Dark's sneak attack. Tell me what you think of it! Did you like the perspective change with Lilly or did it just make things confusing? I would like to know your opinion on that. Oh! And if anyone can guess where the chapter name came from I'll give you a virtual hug!**


	20. How it Almost Came Crumbling Down

_Run_.

That was the only action the Prince could come up with as the black mass came charging straight towards him.

_RUN!_

His boots slipped in the dirt as he turned himself around and made a mad dash back to the pavilion.

"ASLAN!" the black mare brayed, running toward her rider. She turned herself, stirrup facing the Prince. He leapt up into the saddle with little hassle and they both ran toward the opposite side of the jousting field. Villagers and peasants were scattering about like a herd of panicked sheep. Their terrified screams added to the pandemonium of knights trying to assemble themselves under Sir Gilsdorf's commands.

Morgan spotted the other three squires and Lilly near a fence and dropped her rider off there.

"What is going on?" cried Charon.

"Dark had planned this all along..." the Prince panted, the fear clear in his voice. "He has sent an army to dispose of us...of me."

" I suggest you leave quickly," Charon said taking his friend's shoulder.

"No!" The Prince refused. "I am the one_ he_ should be afraid of. Not the other way around."

"Then hurry up and follow us! The knights are preparing for battle." Xavier, Tomas and Charon ran to find Sir Gilsdorf. All that was left was Lilly, with a bow in her hand and a quiver strapped to her back.

"I'm coming with you," she asserted. "And don't try to tell me otherwise."

The Prince didn't. He took the maiden's hand and they both ran to find Sir Gilsdorf. Though, Lilly had difficulty keeping up with the Prince's fast pace and was practically tripping all the way there.

"Prince Aslan, I need you to find somewhere safe to hide. It is my duty as a knight and a servant to the Emperor that I keep you safe." Sir Gilsdorf ordered, sounding very impatient.

"This has been my destiny since I was born. (at this point he drew his sword and rose it to his teacher) I am not running from it now!"

The knight's mouth dropped in dismay. Did a student just talk back to an order? Aslan went on.

"I have a plan, that may hold the army off until we can get reinforcements."

"Reinforcements from _where_?" Sir Gilsdorf said, making this suggestion sound bleak.

"The camp. We left half of our men there, have we not? Morgan shall run back to send the news and they'll come here as fast as their horses' hooves can carry them."

The knight turned back to see the once distant army now halfway to his scrawny group of knights. With a unenthusiastic sigh, he looked to the boy. "What did you have in mind?"

Aslan quickly climbed up into the stands of the pavilion, where he could get the best view of what would now be the battlefield.

Just below him, Lilly stepped up a few yards from the front line. She felt her heart pounding in her rib cage, as she, literally, confronted death. Never once in her entire life did she think she would ever come face-to-face with a Dark Magician. But, then again if you were friends with their worst enemy it would almost be inevitable that sooner or later you'd cross paths with one. Slowly, she kneeled. Her hands outstretched with palms down. Her breath was calm and quiet. Then, in a very quick action, she rose her arms up and pounded her palms into the dirt of the jousting field. Lilly closed her eyes, clearing out the noises of screaming peasants. The sound of armor clanging toward her, and all other thoughts that would distract her. Her fingers dug into the earth, her teeth clenched in focus. She could feel the magic surging through her body into the ground. A beat. Every time, a pulse of magic went from her into the earth. The charging army slowed their pace even, confused at how the ground suddenly had some sort of heartbeat. The land appeared to be alive.

"EARTH!" Lilly cried out, as if awakening a heavy-sleeper from a deep slumber. "AWAKE!"

The earth stopped its pulsate tremble as soon as the gardener's daughter told it to wake up. In moments, another quake rumbled though. Only this one was more violent, as if the ground had heard the maiden's call. From the muddy dirt, gnarled braches, bushes, brambles, even trees sprouted up within the heart of the Dark Army. Multiple black magicians found themselves being entangled in the mass of foliage and lifted off the ground into the air. That newly created forest must have hemmed in a good half of the soldiers, the other half looked up in bewilderment of what just happened.

The Prince, who was still standing at the top of the pavilion saw his cue. He turned his hands forward, fists clenched, and made appear some thousand or more arrows hovering in the air, waiting for their maker to direct them where to fly. Aslan threw his arms forward, aiming to the tangled mess of forest and dark magicians. The arrows launched, rushing past him and into the air like a huge wave. Slowly coming down upon its target. Anyone who was trapped and tied up in the branches was either dead or dying. All that was left to take care of were those on the ground, who now started up their charge again.

Lilly had made her way back to the protection of the knights to find them cheering in triumph. Sir Gilsdorf himself even gave into a smile as she walked past. "Now, men!" he called, turning to his fellow knights and students. " Let us make it a goal that our win here will be a message to that Belly Crawler! That if he wants us dead, he'll have to do better than this!" The men rose their arms in response. Sir Gilsdorf, now drew his sword and rose it to the opposing army. It was not a formal battle (they were not even fighting on their own ground), so a named cause for the attack was not put into place. Simply, Sir Gilsdorf found the word 'Charge!' to fit appropriately.

Aslan leapt down from the stands and took his place between the other three squires and the gardener's daughter, and all five of them ran into the battle. Fearless and unafraid of the menacing darkness that lay just ahead of them.

Besides the use of weapons, magic was a secondary weapon in these sort of fights. Battles with magic were always rather destructive and very dangerous. Since the two armies were of completely opposite kinds, the damage caused from one opponent to the other would be severe. The only way to use it best was against multiple people, not just a single challenger and to know whether or not your opponent was a better magician than you were. Luckily, these two rules were quite easy to follow. Charon had put use to his mastering of the element of fire, and was scorching dark soldiers left and right. Aslan, who had teamed up with Charon, had much more control over the Deep Magic spells and put them to great use.

However, the Prince for the time being, found no others who wanted to get at him. The coal-haired squire only stood a few yards away, fists burning with fire.

"Cowards must have ran off, we killed them all off here." Charon panted.

"Not all of them," the Prince replied looking toward Lilly, who was standing a few yards ahead of him, using her bow and arrow so accurately you would think her an archery prodigy. No one got within a yard of her without an arrow going straight through his head. She looked like a warrior, even a knight. Her innocence and inexperience had melted away to reveal a strong, brave young maiden. The Prince was not sure whether he liked this new form of Lilly or not. It wasn't something he was used to, seeing her all sweaty, dirty and blood-stained like she was right now.

"Come on then," Charon said unsheathing his sword, which was also set ablaze with fire.

The maiden saw the two squires running to her aid.

"Lilly!"

Determination came back to her weak muscles as the two boys charged in with a relentless force. In half the amount of time, the three of them took care of the mass of soldiers Lilly had been fighting off for the longest while.

"Thank you," She said, slightly leaning against the long bow she held.

"Don't mention it," Charon replied, panting almost as hard as she was.

The Prince looked around the battlefield. The sight looked like a portrait of uncertainty and horror. Rings of fire separated men from the rest of their armies. The sinister colors of Dark magic struggling against the bright colors of Deep looked like a lightning storm during the dead of night. You could not tell who was winning or who was losing. Men were on the ground, but it was undeterminable whether they were dead, put into a trance, or just injured. That was one of the main problems fighting with magic. It led to utter chaos.

Then, like a ray of heaven's light in the shadows, a sound of thundering hooves could be heard over the racket of war, along with the unison of deep, battle cries, and an unmistakable howl that made the young fighters' hearts leap for joy. The reinforcements had finally came through.

Bailiff was the first one that caught the trio's eye. He appeared through the smoke, leaping up upon a Dark Magician. His slobbering jaws bit hard into the soldiers neck. The hound only let go when he felt the magician's body go limp under his paws.

The hound then realized Lilly, Charon, and the Prince were all standing not very far off and immediatley went over to greet them.

"Hurry, humans! I was ordered to escort you all out of here and back to the camp." Bailiff barked. As before, the boys protested in leaving.

"Aslan, Charon," Lilly said, now walking toward Bailiff. "Let him take me. We'll by you time. Find Xavier and Tomas and find the Stag."

"The Stag?" Charon exclaimed crossly, angry that Lilly's focus was not on the battle but on the stupid animal. "That is the least of our problems!"

"No, she's right," the Prince protested, taking his friend by the shoulder. "If some Dark Magician finds that Stag... Nameless Emperor _knows_ what they could wish for!"

A shocked realization came upon Charon's face. "We got to find Xavier and Tomas!" The squire was so frightened he ran off trying to find the other two boys. The Prince was about to follow when he felt a tug on his bad arm.

"Ow! Lilly!" He mumbled in pain. This whole time he hadn't noticed the injury on his arm. It looked a lot more inflamed and bloody than last time, which wasn't a good sign.

"Your arm doesn't look good," She sighed nervously.

"Do not worry about it, I will be alright." Suddenly, he remembered Stelan for a quick moment. How the poor child might be in such a state of fright for the older Prince, and with this thought, he added: "Please, when you get to camp, can you tell my brother I am fine?"

"Yes, of course." Lilly said but then hesitated a moment. A feeling that this might be the last time she'd ever see him again, overwhelmed her. She felt it was time she told Prince Aslan, what she had always wanted to tell him. Just in case there was a chance she would never look into those deep, gold eyes ever again. "Aslan-I-."

A challenging cry came from behind the Prince. He was quick to turn around and knock the cloaked figure to the ground. His boot pressed against the dark magician's neck to hold his opponent down. "Lilly, go now!" he ordered after giving the soldier a final blow into the chest. Lilly stood by in indecision, with Bailiff tugging on her pants striving to get her to budge. She didn't want to leave her Prince behind.

"Go Lilly!" was the now more angry and desperate call.

As Aslan watched her run into the smoke with Bailiff, he couldn't help but feel that maybe that was the last time he would ever see her again. The last time he'd be able to look into those eyes that were greener than the richest forest.

"Aslan!" came Xavier's voice. Charon had brought both of them. Tomas was covered in dirt and sweat, and Xavier only seemed to gain a cut that ran right under his eye.

"Where can we find the Stag?" Tomas asked.

The Prince looked towards Prince Demitron's castle. The flames from the jousting field had already reached its base. A shadow of darkness surrounded the grey, brick walls. Dark's minions had control of the castle. The four of them, somehow had to get passed the Dark Army, and then to the other side where the pen was hidden in a courtyard.

"Come, this way," the Prince called, signaling for the other squires to follow him.

The four boys decided the quickest way around was directly towards the castle. Though it was not the safest choice of travel, the boys were one step ahead. Each of them, placed an invisibility spell over themselves and walked past sentries and small gangs of Dark Magicians that blocked off any entrances into the castle. This now made the squires two steps ahead, for what they were looking for _wasn't_ inside. Once they found themselves in the courtyard they quickly checked for any sign of soldiers. There were no entries on this side of the castle so no one stood on ground level, but there was a window on the second floor.

"Xavier," Charon called softly. The squire walked ahead of the others and checked for the coast to be clear. As expected, there were soldiers watching from the window for intruders.

"You know," Xavier sighed. "I never really liked the look of this castle, wouldn't you agree, Aslan?"

The Prince seemed to understand what Xavier was getting at, and walked over to Xavier's side. "Yes, it looks, in a word, dull. Or, monotonous, perhaps?"

The soldiers from the window seemed to overhear the conversation.

"Did you hear that? Someone's down there!"

"I don't see anyone, Skibsy! Your hearin' things again. Blast it, I told you not to drink that Elfish wine! You know it messes with one's senses."

"What are you doing?" Tomas whispered fretfully, Charon put his hand on Tomas' shoulder and pushed him along towards the other two squires.

"_Really_ Tomas?" he said out loud. "You can't see how much of a poor excuse this is of a palace?"

The four of them all stood a foot away from the wall, and nodded to one another.

"Then it is decided," Tomas concluded, a smile on his face. "Prince Demitron's castle is to be remodeled. Starting from scratch!" And as he said this, all four of them rammed their sides against the hard, grey wall.

"Now you must have heard it _that_ time!" came Skibsy's voice from the window.

"Skibsy, I swear, you don't quiet up I will-what is that?"

The palace suddenly began to wobble, furniture inside toppled over. Bricks started falling out from their tightly packed homes in the walls. The castle that stood high over the land it ruled quickly came crumbling down like a house of cards, taking the lives of all Dark Magicians inside. All who were on the battlefield watched in bewilderment at how such a sturdy fortress suddenly collapsed. They would probably be in even more shock if they knew four young squires were able to conjure enough magic to knock that whole building down. All that now remained of Prince Demitron's castle was a newly formed hill of rubble.

" I can't believe it! It actually worked!" Tomas exclaimed joyfully.

"See?" Xavier said wrapping his arm around Tomas' neck. "And you thought I was _trying_ to get us caught!"

"Tomas. Xavier." Charon cried from the far side of the courtyard, standing next to Aslan. "We found the Stag."

With a little patience and a lot of strenuous hacking, the squires cut through the bramble and thorn fence and reached the white beast; who was wearing the reins Lilly put on him.

The coal-haired squire pulled out the lasso from his belt and tied it to the reins. It wasn't going to escape. Not this time.

Though the squires all felt accomplished that they had finally captured the trouble of a beast which granted them their spurs, the four boys couldn't help but feel this was the _easy_ part of this newly unplanned scenario. The hard part would be getting the Stag back to the camp.

"Which way should we go?" Tomas asked the others.

"Not back the way we came, if a Dark Magician spots us we could be finished." Xavier added in.

"Fine," Charon said. "Tomas, break a whole through this wall, we'll make a break through the village. What do you think Aslan?...Aslan?"

When the Prince did not respond, the three squires turned to where their friend was originally standing. Only to find his Majesty face down in the grass unconscious, with a group of about ten Dark Magicians standing over him.

"Looks like you boys had done our job for us, Dark shall be very pleased." came the voice of the black figure in the center, who stood closest to Prince Aslan.

"No!" Charon unsheathed his sword and in a single swipe, killed the black magician who spoke. The other two unsheathed their swords as well, all of them standing protectively over the body of their Prince and friend.

"You want _him_," Charon threatened, pointing his blazing sword toward the group of soldiers. "You'll have to go through _us_."

**A/N: I would like my readers to know I have made a ref for all main characters. It's more comic/cartoon looking but I wanted to find out if you guys want me to post it somewhere so you can see how the characters look. If you review, please, tell me if you would like to see it or not. If I get a lot of 'yeses' I'll put the URL in the next chapter. Tell me what you thought of this chapter! Anything about the magic you found unrealistic? Let me know! **


	21. Spurs Won

Stelan sat quietly beside the great, black mare; awaiting the return of the knights and squires. Morgan watched as the young prince tore patches of grass out from the ground and ripped the green stems into tiny bits.

"Stelan," She said gently, her velvet nose brushing the side of his face. ''Are you alright? You've been awfully quiet."

"Yeah," He muttered as added the green bits to the little hill he made out of all the grass he ripped up. "I'm fine." The mare wanted persist further, but she felt it would only upset the boy further if she did so.

"Morgan?" He asked softly, his voice shaky and cracking.

"Yes, dear?" the mare replied, only to be responded with the child clinging to her snout. Tears trickling down his cheek and splashing onto her own black muzzle.

"I don't want to be an only child!" He blubbered through his weeping. "I want Aslan here. I want my brother!"

"Shh," the mare said calmly. She had a good hunch that was why he was so quiet. He feared for his older brother. Just as she feared for him too. "Stelan, when I saw your brother last he was perfectly fine."

"How do you know? You didn't even see the knights go into battle. What if Dark got him? " Stelan said, trying to rub his ceaseless tears away.

"Have faith in your brother, Stelan," the mare neighed. "Nothing was ever accomplished by doubt."

A distant sound of horse's whinnies and brays came from the forest. Stelan's felt his heart pounding hard against his rib cage. The knights were back!

"Aslan!" The young prince cried happily, running towards the edge of the forest.

He stood in the middle of the path of the troops. Bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet in eagerness. He saw Lilly, Bailiff, and Sir Gilsdorf all at the front of the line. The squires could not be too far away!

"Lilly! Bailiff!" The child greeted, running up to the hound and maiden, giving both of them a hug. "Where is Aslan? Is he hurt? Where's the Stag?'' The young prince's eyes scanned all the tired and sweaty faces of the knights. Not one of the faces he saw matched that of his brother, or any of the other squires. Doubt raced back into his thoughts. He pictured his brother chained up, Dark standing over him. An evil cackle coming from the cloaked figure as Prince Aslan screamed in pain. There was so much that could happen to his sibling that he would maybe never know about.

Tears welled his jade eyes as he asked Bailiff and Lilly the question again. "Where's Aslan?"

Lilly looked to Bailiff for an answer. The hound's wrinkly face looked uneasy. Their plan's chance at succeeding was starting to dwindle. It fell short once Sir Gilsdorf's voice chimed into the conversation.

"Yes, _Bailiff_, where are my squires?"

The dog knew he was in trouble. It was his job to bring the squires back to camp. His job to make sure the four of them were safe.

"Erm," the hound stammered, looking back and forth from the brink-of-crying prince to the raised-eyebrowed Sir Gilsdorf. "They-uh-well..."

"They're not here," the prince muttered, his eyes wide in a horrified understanding. Tears now overflowing out his eyes and down his cheeks. "You don't know where they are. You lost my brother you stupid dog!"

The hound lowered his head in shame. "I truly am a stupid dog." He whimpered to himself. Lilly comfortingly scratched one of Bailiff's floppy ears "It was my idea for them to leave. It's just as much my fault." She said softly, though the hound didn't feel any better with her saying that.

Prince Stelan turned around and went running back to camp.

"Stelan! Wait!" The maiden called, going after the young boy. She followed him all the way back to the wagons. He was hiding inside the wagon that just so happened to be crying as well.

"Please, Stelan, come out." She pleaded.

"Go away!"

"Oh, you all finally came back!" Morgan sighed contently, trotting up to the gardener's daughter. "I was terrified the battle would continue through the night. Where are the boys, Lilly? None of them are hurt are they?"

The maiden's eyes were upset, and the black mare could see it. "Don't tell me they're-!"

"No, we-we just don't know where they are." She replied hastily.

The horse was lost for words, her mouth was open in distraught. Just as Stelan, she was probably picturing all the horrible things that could have happened to them.

The troop finally made their way out of the forest and into the camp, Sir Gilsdorf came up to the maiden and the dumbstruck mare.

"Lilly, many of my men are wounded. I need you to tend to their wounds. Morgan, you can come with Bailiff and me. We will try and find the squires."

Without any hesitation, Morgan followed the knight back into the dense woods.

After a long, persuading argument, Lilly had finally gotten Stelan out of the wagon and took him with her to help deal with the injured soldiers.

The small search party returned just as the sun began to set. Defeat and anxiety was creased in all of their faces. They found no sign of the squires. Both Sir Gilsdorf and Morgan were silent coming back to camp and refused to answer any questions having to do with the whereabouts of the missing boys. Poor Bailiff was in tears when he stepped foot back in the camp. The feeling that this was all his fault was nagging away at him. Lilly offered the dog to stay in the tent she was working in, but the hound declined the offer and found rest underneath the shadow of the wagons. Far from anyone who would blame him further for what he already knew was his fault.

The gardener's daughter had looked, tended, and healed all knights that claimed themselves wounded. Fortunately, few were severely injured. All of them would survive the night.

However, the idea that her four friends would make it to morning diminished every hour they hadn't returned. When the moon finally came out, she was found sitting under the shade of a tree on a hill. The same place she was just the other night. She could still feel the warmth of the Prince's body next to hers, even now, when she had not the slightest idea where he was. She could still remember the tune of the song he was singing. Quietly, she hummed it to herself, trying to make the loneliness she felt right now less obvious.

Her green eyes blinked toward the moon for a moment. "Oh moon," she mumbled quietly. "Your eyes can see everything that is so far below you. You brighten even the darkest places in this world. Please, as part of creation, as part of the Nameless Emperor, shine down on this place, the darkest of dark spots. Bring them back."

She felt slightly embarrassed saying her prayer out loud like so, but she was desperate. She wanted nothing more than to see Charon's icy eyes, Xavier's curly, brown hair, Tomas' naturally timid face and Aslan's soft, gentle smile. Not one thing in the world could make her happy, not until she saw them again.

Her hopeless eyes blinked forward. The small field of grass ahead of her was colored blue in the moon's light. Except for one little patch near a cluster of trees, which was bleached white.

"What is that?" She muttered to herself, standing up and squinting her eyes to get a better look. The white patch of grass appeared to be moving toward her way. As it got closer, she could see a tall, pointed rack of antlers and three figures standing on each side of the white blur.

The joy ran rampant in her veins. Her mouth stretched, revealing an overjoyed smile.

The squires came back.

The sudden urge to run came upon her, and she obeyed it. Sprinting towards the boys, she screamed as loud as she possibly could.

"Aslan! Charon! Tomas! Xavier!"

"Lilly?" was the unison response.

The girl flung herself on each of the squires, all of them responding back by embracing her as well. Only after she hugged the three did she realize the fourth was missing. Her nervous, green eyes blinked to the other boys.

"Where's-?" The question was answered when she saw Prince Aslan propping himself against the white beast. His arm weakly hanging over the Stag's large neck. He looked as if he hadn't had rest for days. His eyes were half-way shut and his teeth were clenched in some sort of agonizing pain. Lilly was extremely concerned about the Prince's state. Last she left him his only injury was the cut on his arm. Surely, that was not the cause of _this_.

"What happened to you?" She asked as she looked over him for any other open wounds.

"He can't remember," Tomas responded. "When we found the Stag a group of Dark Magicians spotted us. One of them knocked him unconscious. We got him to stir but he could barely stand on his two feet."

"So what, the spell hasn't worn off yet?" Lilly asked the trio of squires.

"It's not only that." Charon added in.

"Well, _what is it_?" Lilly asked impatiently. She didn't understand why none of them could give her a straight answer of why he was in this state.

"The chain around his neck," Charon went on. "I think when the spell was cast the charm was reversed. Instead of protecting him..."

"It's harming him!" Lilly gasped, finishing the squire's sentence. Quickly, she pulled back the collar of the Prince's tunic and pulled out the gold chain which was believed to be the source of his pain.

"Is this what is hurting you?" She asked Aslan. His head nodded violently as he managed to choke out the words. "Get it off me!"

Lilly pulled the necklace over the his head, and in seconds, the color came back to his face. His eyes blinked away the exhaustion and pain. Though he was still covered in blood and sweat, he looked much better than he did before.

"Thank you," He panted resting his head against the Stag's white, furry neck.

"We should make for camp. Based on how Lilly greeted us, Sir Gilsdorf must be close to ripping his hair out." Xavier suggested to the other two boys.

"Shouldn't we wait for them?" Tomas mentioned, referring to the Prince and Lilly.

Xavier and Charon looked at each other and back to Tomas. "Tomas, do you _really_ not know?" Charon asked, wondering how stupid the squire was.

"Know what?"

"Just forget about them and follow us. They'll make their way over eventually." Xavier sighed with annoyance. And with that, the trio walked off leaving the two and the Stag behind.

"We've been worried sick for all of you." She murmured to Aslan. He caught the mix of anxiety and relief in her eyes. A small smile bent the corner of his lips.

"We're here now." He remarked, pulling his arm from over the Stag.

"Your_ arm_!" She exclaimed. The cut somehow turned into a gash, swollen and bruised to the point where it was even hard for her, the one who had spent most of the afternoon looking after bleeding men, to look at.

"It's just a scratch." He claimed, implying her reaction to it was over exaggerated. This was one of the many things Lillian Anna Swanwhite hated about boys. They never admit that their injuries are serious, even when they are looking at a maiden who has a specialty in medicine straight in the eye.

"Scratch or not," She stated, her eyes flashing with a hint of irritation for the Prince's lack of care for the wound. "This could be infected. I want to have a look at it when we get to camp. Can you even move it?"

The Prince bit his lip. He knew better than to tell her he could. She understood the opposite sex's language better than any other girl he had met. It was better for him to tell her directly than to have her think he was too cowardly to admit that he was unable to bend his arm.

"No..." was the final, reluctant response.

"Come on," She said grabbing the Stag by the reins. "There's a little boy back at camp who wishes to see you."

The two of them, along with the white beast, caught up with the three squires and all six of them entered camp. Morgan was the first to spot them.

"Oh Nameless Emperor! They're back! They're back!" She brayed ecstatically. Her screams woke up the entire encampment. Bailiff came running up and greeted each squire with a slobbered-drenched tongue. The knights also expressed their joys of the squires return. Only theirs were more reserved and masculine.

"Aslan!" There came running up the jade-eyed child, arms outstretched and crying with joy.

The Prince got down on one knee and braced for impact. The boy practically choked him from how tight his scrawny, little arms clasped to Aslan's neck. Stelan's head attempted to bury itself in the shiny breastplate. Tears streamed down the armor like a river.

"I thought Dark got you! And I was gonna be an only child and I was gonna have to go back home and tell mama and papa that you died and-." the rest of his sentence was muddled by crying.

"Everything's fine now, Stel, alright?" Prince Aslan murmured kindly, wiping some of the tears off his brother's cheek. "I'm sorry I frightened you like this. I didn't mean for things to plan out this way."

"It's okay." The younger prince sniffled, helping his brother wipe away the tears. "I'm glad you're back."

"I am too," came the gentle whinny of Morgan. Her velvet black nose nuzzling the Prince's face. "You attempt something like that again and I will welcome you with a horseshoe to the face." She said sternly, though the joke was prominent when she added softly; "You stupid prince."

"I will keep that in mind." Aslan said with a smile.

After all those who came out to greet the missing squires, Charon, Aslan, Xavier, and Tomas were requested to tell the tale of what happened to them. The Prince turned down the offer, for specific and obvious circumstances. The other three were left to recount events from earlier that day. Aslan ceased the opportunity to have Lilly take care of the wound she was so worried about.

He made his way to the tent, opening one of the cloth flaps to reveal a room filled with herbs and medicine concoctions.

"Lilly?" He called, slowly stepping into the tent.

"There you are!" She said with a sigh. The maiden told him to sit on a small table, while she took a look at the wound.

"Does this hurt?" She asked, gently squeezing the lower part of his bicep.

"No," He replied. Then she squeezed closer to the gash, and he hissed in pain.

"Well, you didn't break a bone. You just bruised it pretty badly. I'll clean it up and see what I can do." She left for a moment to grab a towel and a bowl filled with water. When she returned, she assisted the Prince in taking off his armor. Once she carefully pulled the white under shirt over his head was his bare chest revealed.

Some time ago she followed the same procedure, when Aslan had gotten scratched up the first day they got here. However, that day she was wearing a helmet, which concealed her facial features. Right now, at this moment, she could feel her cheeks burning as if she had a fever. The smile on the Prince's lips told her that her face was probably turning red.

As one would expect, he was very well built. There was no sign of any thin, flimsy muscle anywhere. It was an upper body any man could wish for, or for any woman to see for that matter.

"Are you alright, 'Lil?" the Prince finally asked.

"Sorry,'' She said embarrassedly, sitting down beside him. "My mind trailed off for a moment."

"Mhm," was the curt response. He may have been a bit dazed, but Prince Aslan was no idiot.

Though the cleaning process was painful, the cut looked less messy than it originally did, but that didn't make it look less disgusting. The blues, purples, blacks even some nasty color of green surrounded the red gash, which was now clotting and was hardly trickling out any blood.

Lilly went off to a part of the tent and pulled out a jar of some sort of clear liquid, along with a roll of cloth.

"This should stop the swelling and help loosen the muscle." She explained as she dipped her fingers into the clear liquid and rubbed it on and around the cut. She then took the cloth and bound the injury up.

"That should do." She said after tying the knot.

"Thank you...again." Aslan remarked, slightly bending his arm, now that the ointment she had put on allowed him to do so.

"You're welcome...again" the maiden replied with a laugh as she put the supplies back in a bag. "I just can't believe that that was my first battle ever and I didn't even get so much as a scratch. But somehow you managed to do _that_ to your arm and you have seen more fights than me."

"You fought well today," was the Prince's reply. "You have a natural talent in archery."

A strange looking smile came upon Lilly's face. "I could tell you were pleased."

"What?"

"I saw how you were staring when I was trying to hold off the Dark Magicians."

The Prince's cheeks tinted pink. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Oh, I think you do," She laughed, determined to make him say it. Even if she had gag the words out of him.

The Prince noticed then how close her face was to his. Her unblinking, forest green eyes beamed in the soft candle light. He could feel her finger tracing the Deep Mark on his breast. He didn't protest her advances, in fact, he took a hidden pleasure in them.

"Lillian Anna Swanwhite, are you seducing the Prince?" He stated jokingly.

"It's only seduction when the other does not approve of it." She replied. His hand ran through her curls. The aroma of lilies tickled his nose. It was her scent. No other person he had ever met had such a distinct, sweet smell as his Swanwhite.

"Then I guess that changes things, doesn't it?" the Prince murmured as their foreheads met.

As their eyes closed, both their lips slowly inched forward. He could feel her breath rush down his throat. For the longest while he wished just to feel the softness and warmth of those beautiful lips pressed against his own. He was only centimeters away from having that wish granted.

"Aslan?" The voice broke the silence so abruptly, it caused the two to snap their heads around to see who so untimely interrupted them. It was Tomas, who looked as if he was going to faint from shock. His jaw was dropped and his eyes were wide in dismay. It could not be denied, what he saw in front of him could raise one's eyebrow. The Prince, heir to the throne of the highest authority next to the Nameless Emperor was shirtless, about to passionately kiss a peasant, a servant, a gardener, an absolute _nobody_. It was a paradox that a given many would find improper; except for the two creating the paradox, of course.

"Um-uh-S-S-Sir Gilsdorf wants to see us. So-erm-yeah come to his tent when you have the chance." The squire shut the flap as fast as he could and ran off to find Charon and Xavier. I think it was safe to say that he understood now what the other two squires were talking about earlier in the meadow.

Once Tomas disappeared, the Prince turned back to Lilly. The humiliation was profound in her eyes. Her hands that were so gently caressing his shoulders before, now slowly made their way back to her side.

"You should get to Sir Gilsdorf." She muttered, getting up from where she was seated.

"Lilly," The Prince pleaded. She wasn't _afraid_ of him now, was she?

"Here," the maiden said as she handed him his white undershirt and put his necklace back around his neck. The whole time her face was low, avoiding direct eye-contact with him.

"'Lil," He murmured again, this time raising her head up to his own. The two communicated between one another with just their eyes. A skill they excelled at.

_Why are you ashamed to admit it?_

_ I'm not. I'm ashamed of the others. _

_ We don't have to worry about them._

_ Yes we do Aslan! Don't try to deny something that is true. _

"I'm going to bed," She said aloud turning from him and heading toward the tent's entrance. "Goodnight, my Prince."

Aslan said nothing in response, but only watched her leave. Defeat distorted his face. There was no one else he wanted. No other woman would appease him. He was proud to admit it. He had fallen in love with a servant. Now, it was Lilly's turn. But, would she ever give in to him? Would she ever confess it? The Prince was starting to wonder if what he was chasing after, really was ever there to begin with.

Within a few minutes, Prince Aslan met up with his fellow squires, who were all standing outside Sir Gilsdorf's tent. Judging by how closely together they stood and how quiet their voices were, the Prince guessed that Tomas was telling them what he saw in the tent.

"Aslan," Charon called out loud, causing the other two to fall silent and stare as the Prince walked toward them.

"You don't have to dumb up," He muttered. "I know what you were talking about."

"Boys!" came Sir Gilsdorf's raspy tone as he stepped out of the tent. The four boys all stood side by side, silent, waiting for what their teacher had to say to them. The knight paced back and forth, scanning each and every squire's face.

"I will tell you this now," He began gravely. "I've never seen a more (saying this he looked to Charon) cocky, (saying this he turned to Xavier) impatient, (saying this he looked to Tomas) inconsiderate, (and saying this he turned to the Prince) stubborn group of squires. I would raise you four, that if I trained a group of babies, they would behave better than you all have over these six years. I would teach you something and you would never learn from it. Not until you were injured making the mistake. Rarely did you ever obey my rules. You only paid attention to what you thought was right! Not what was best or safer to do. Even today, you disobey my orders so you could go find the white beast! Do you have any idea of what I felt when you four were missing? Well, do you?"

The squires blinked to one another, unsure if they should respond or not. Sir Gilsdorf's cold eyes scanned the squires. None of them dared open their mouths. Then, a noise was heard. The four boys were told that the sound was a myth, that no one has ever heard it before. Laughter. Sir Gilsdorf's rare laughter. Seldom heard by any knight or squire prior to them. "I felt I had lost the best group of knights I would ever have! My squires, my _men_! Despite what you lack, you gain in strategy, intelligence, and courage. Those are deficient in many a men. The four of you understand what you are fighting for, and why you are. I am proud of you four young men. Come, kneel before me."

Each squire did as told, all of them letting out a breathe of relief and anticipation. Finally, they had won their spurs. Sir Gilsdorf knighted the four of them there that evening. The squires went to bed as knights. No greater feeling overcame that.

The next morning, the camp was being taken down. The White Stag was caught, and the squires had now become knights. It was time return home. The journey back to Mohthelieum was easy and much more pleasurable that the previous ride from the island. Upon returning to the castle, the newly dubbed knights told the Emperor about the battle at the deceased Prince Demitron's castle, and the Stag was put to its use by granting the wishes of its captors.

The days, the months, after this journey were quiet, news of Dark was rare. The squires now had more time to themselves, now that they no longer were being trained. Which, depending how you looked at it, was either a good or bad thing. You know what people say about newly christened knights: They become cocky, impatient, inconsiderate, and stubborn. Luckily, for Sir Charon, Sir Xavier, Sir Tomas, and Sir Aslan this was not a difficult saying to live up to. After all, they were the ones who set the standards in the first place.

**A/N: Oh wow! Very long chapter here! The next chapter shall begin Part 3 (which may be one of my favorite parts in probably this whole book, I got a lot of fun ideas planned!) Ok, so for the ref...I had to fix some things, so it's more likely by NEXT chapter I will have it posted. :) Sorry if I just downgraded your excitement, but by being a drawer, I am an extreme perfectionist of my work. **

**Tell me what you thought of the chapter, guys! **


	22. The Situation

**/ ! \ This chapter begins Part 3 in the story. Aslan is now twenty three, Stelan is thirteen and Lilly is twenty two. This part is extremely ****AU (Alternate Universe)****, for the couple is starting to develop more drastically than before now. **

The monthly Realm Gathering had just concluded in the Court of the Magi. The council room was filled with seats, one for every leader in every world the Nameless Emperor created. Emperor Kalecgos, Empress Anveena, along with his own court, headed these meetings. The Prince, now that he was older, was allowed to attend as well. The Court of the Magi was broken into three sections. Deep, Ancient, and Dark. Whatever race of Magic the world leader represented had to sit in the proper seat. Two thirds of the court was always full. There was only one section that was denied presence. Dark. At one point, very long ago, the untrustworthy race was granted right to speak at these meetings. However, due to treachery, the killings and the Uproar, which was the only battle ever fought on Mohthelieum's peaceful grounds, the group was deprived of a voice in the Courts ever since. For thousands of years, that segment of the room was always empty. Never to be filled again.

The familiar face of Prince Aslan was first to make its way out of the doors. He wasn't a very big fan of the long, slow Realm Gatherings. Perhaps it was because almost never did he have to raise his voice in debate. Most of the time, he felt he was only their for show. Kalecgos told his son he attends to both learn and gain knowledge in how, one day, his authority too will keep the Realms together, just as they are now. The ridiculously long roll calls at the beginning of every single meeting made the Prince think otherwise.

"Your Majesty," it was Princess Ferona's voice, the daughter of the King of Charn. "My you ran out of that gathering rather quickly!"

"It is a chore I take a rather dislike to," was the Prince's response. "You go to these meetings just as frequently as I, do you feel as if your presence is really appreciated?"

"Surely yours is!" Ferona exclaimed, walking with the Prince down one of the halls.

"I wish there was a sign that proved me otherwise." He replied.

A brisk silence past between the two, Princess Ferona decided it be best to start up a different topic.

"I apologize for my sister not coming," She said. "Jadis has been focused with other plans."

"And what would these other plans be?" He asked, faking the interest in his voice.

XXXX

Kalecgos and Anveena were one of the last few to leave the Court of Magi. Being the Emperor and Empress, they had to engage in conversations with some of the other leaders. New things, old things, boring things, many things were the focuses of these short chats. Now that the representatives had slowly made their way out of the room into the rest of the castle, Kalecgos and Anveena were found standing alone on a large balcony that had an excellent view of the Western Gardens.

The Emperor stood beside his wife, his thumb rubbing her elegant, soft hand. His face was scrunched in thought, and the Empress couldn't resist asking why.

"My dear, I know that face. What has been bothering you?" Her majesty asked.

He blinked slowly, then looked to his wife. "The King of Charn has asked again for the arranged marriage." The Emperor watched as Anveena made a disgusted look. This was a matter that upset her very much. The last time they talked about this, let us just say it was not a very pleasant night.

"I've already expressed my views on _that, _Kalec. I don't understand why you press it further. My mind isn't going to change anytime soon."

"I know, my love. It's just..." The Emperor made a long sigh before he continued on. Empress Anveena had one of the most stubborn dispositions he had ever come across. It would take incredible persuasion and liable proof to make her think differently. Fortunately, she was exceptionally smart and her opinions took on that trait. Arguments against her thoughts were almost always in her favor. Kalecgos knew he wouldn't change her mind, but maybe he would be able to get her to improvise with it.

His wise, jade eyes caught sight of his son, Aslan, walking alongside Princess Ferona in the gardens below. "Look at him, Anveena. He's not a child anymore. We know it, he knows it. He must decide on the kind of life he wishes to lead."

"And what? You think him being forced into a marriage with a girl who we, as well as him, do not have a partiality to is him doing something with his life? I beg to differ."

"It just upsets me that he hasn't found someone yet." Kalecgos said with a heavy breath. "Stelan is still young, and Lady Helen is his obvious choice. Aslan has shown little to no affectionate interaction with any girl we present to him. All these years, and still no woman shows a standing!"

"I wouldn't be so doubtful, my Kalec."

"You know of someone? Whom?" The Emperor followed his Empress' gaze. It lead to two gardeners: Courtland and Lilly Swanwhite, who were finishing up the days work. "Lillian? The gardener?"

"You seem upset at my choice." Anveena said, crossing her arms. "You and I have seen the two together frequently. I know something is there. Do not tell me you do not accept her for her class in society!"

"No," Kalecgos quickly replied, turning to the Empress and gently caressing her shoulders. "Absolutely not." At one point in her life, the Great Empress Anveena was poor. A princess, but a poor one, which is almost as lowly as a peasant working in the fields. Her father was desperate for money and begged for an marriage with the Mohthelieum's heir, who at the time was Kalecgos. Essentially, the Emperor-to-be was being used for the sake of wealth. However, by the blessing of the Nameless Emperor, the two of them fell in love once they first met each other. Not because they were forced to, but just by chance. Since then, Anveena has never looked down upon someone just because they cannot afford the luxuries of another. It was a very sensitive subject for her to talk about.

Her long, nimble fingers stroked the Emperor's beard. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that." She murmured. "But, I do feel a strong bond that is far greater than it seems between them."

"Perhaps I am wrong, and you are right," Kalecgos said. "but I want to know for sure."

A bright, white smile spread across her lips as her arms wrapped around his neck in an embrace.

"Just give him some time, my love." She whispered. "He doesn't like being pushed into doing things."

"Like _you_?" was the mild remark.

"'Tis a good trait to have," The Empress said. "It shows one's beliefs aren't poisoned by those of others."

"Oh, I believe you. It's still taken me several years to prove to you the sky is blue." This was an ongoing joke between the Emperor and Empress. Poking fun, yet again, at her stubbornness.

"It isn't always blue! At times it is grey, sometimes white, sometimes black, ever orange."

"Ah, but you agree it is blue, _sometimes_." Kalecgos smiled, taking his wife's arm and walking with her down the hall.

"_Sometimes_ doesn't mean it is _always_ blue, which is what that statement is interpreting it as."

XXXX

"A ball?" the Prince said slowly. That was the reason why Jadis missed a Realm Gathering?

"For her twentieth birthday. She is quite excited about it. A masquerade, from what she tells me." Ferona replied with enthusiasm. Prince Aslan was one of those men who was not very keen on enormous balls and parties, especially masquerades. He could feel an invitation looming over him, and he was already planning on who would be willing to go with him to it. The last thing one wants to be alone at is a ball where you only know one person, who is the sister of someone who you have little, to no tolerance for. "Jadis wanted me to tell as many people as I could, and, well, we know you fairly well. She would love it if you came. Please, would you?"

"May I bring others with me?" was the first question that slipped out of his mouth.

"Of course!" Princess Ferona replied. "Yes, invite as many people as you wish!"

_Stelan, Helen, Charon, Tomas, Xavier, Lilly..._ His list was halted when the Princess of Charn beckoned him closer. He bent his head slightly, thinking she wanted to whisper something to him. Instead, she obnoxiously said aloud: "And between you and me, I recommend leaving the pile of dirt behind. We do not want a peasant to taint the fun."

His eyebrows rose up in both confusion and insult. What was she talking about?

He felt the sudden urge to turn around. As he did, he saw Lilly standing near a hedge a couple yards away from where they stood. Her beautiful face was smudged with dirt and grass stains, and what now appeared to be tears. She had to have heard what Ferona said.

The gardener dropped the basket of weeds in her arms and ran behind the green shrubbery, her crying clear as a bird song.

The Prince turned back to Ferona, who's face remained unmoved and emotionless despite the scene that just happened in front of her. It sickened him of how she could be so rude to a hard worker such as Lilly. It was starting to look obvious on who truly was the pile of dirt in the situation.

"Bring others if you wish, just not her." Ferona said gravely. Aslan was about to retort his thoughts when the princess turned around and headed the other direction. "I will see you in a week, My Prince!" She called, as her image disappeared behind another hedge.

Aslan went on a vigorous search for the gardener. Despite that this was his home, and that Lilly had taken him through most of the gardens, he found himself lost.

"Lilly!" He called.

"I found her!" It was the voice of the young Lady Helen. She had beautiful hair the color of the setting sun, with a sea of freckles to match. Her eyes the color of rich, dark chocolate and a face that retained not only youth, but beauty. She recently came to the island and grew a strong bond with both princes. Though, in Aslan's case, she was more of the little sister he never had. With Stelan, she was an extremely close friend.

The ginger-haired girl showed Prince Aslan the way. The maiden was found hunched near a bush, her face buried in her arms.

"I tried to calm her down," Helen told the Prince. "She told me she wants to be alone. You can try if you want, she always listens to you better than me." The young girl left the man and the gardener to their business.

Slowly, he approached Lilly. When she did not deny him presence, he sat beside her.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," He murmured.

"I don't understand," came her muffled voice. "Is there something wrong with me, Aslan? Do I have a disease I am not aware of that so many people are afraid to catch? Why must she be so mean?"

He did not respond quickly. He waited on purpose. Not until her face finally came out from hiding did he answer her. "It is not you who doesn't understand, but the others. They have been raised in a way where they are blind, deaf, and dumb to everything that is strange to them. They only act cruel because they have been told to swagger the dominance they have over others. They do not know any better, Lilly."

Her eyes blinked gratefully as a sniffle came from her nose.

"You're right...thank you."

"Think nothing of it, Weeping Willow." he managed to get the maiden to smile with that. Even a hint of giggle could be heard.

"Curse Charon for telling you that name!" She laughed, using the sleeve of her dress to wipe the mixture of mud and tears off her cheeks.

The Prince did not want to veer back to the topic that got her so upset in the first place, but he wanted her to come. Whether or not she was going to be welcomed.

"_Did_ you want to go to the ball?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Um... I mean, I don't know. I think it be rather pointless for me to come. Aslan, I don't have anything to wear to a high-class party as that. And you heard what Ferona said."

"I know what Ferona said, she said do not invite the _peasant_. She said nothing about a princess."

"I don't understand..." Lilly replied confusedly. A mischievous smile came upon the Prince's face. He took the maiden by the hands, and as he rose her to her feet he said: "Rise, Princess Swanwhite, daughter of the King Courtland, ruler of the neighboring Isle of Ettinshore."

She finally understood what he was getting at.

"You are going to _lie_ to everyone that I am a princess?"

" 'Lie' is such a harsh word, Lillian! I think 'fib' better suits the scheme."

"But, how would we be able to keep that up? Sooner or later someone is bound to find out. You can't just make up royalty...can you?"

"You're telling this to the heir of the Mohthelieum throne. I can do nearly everything you can imagine. I only cannot make the decision for you."

"Aslan, look at me. I am not exactly princess material here!" She protested shaking about the mud and grass stained skirt of her dress.

"Nonsense!" He exclaimed, taking her hands. "You have the beauty, the personality, the mannerisms. It is clothes you only need, and that is not something difficult to give you."

"No, I do not want to be hassle."

"Lilly, please?" He sounded desperate now. His amber eyes were pleading. "Please? For me, as your friend."

The maiden lowered her eyes to the green earth. The thoughts were rushing in her head like a river, drowning her in the disorder: _Don't do it. Go on, have some fun for once! He's a Prince! He's your friend. It's going to be bad, you know it will be. You've never been to a ball before, could it really be that harmful? You are not a princess! He thinks you are a princess._

"Can I give you my decision tomorrow?" She asked quietly, as her eyes rose back up to his face.

"Of course," He replied, though he did sound upset that she could not give him an answer now.

"I should go," She muttered, pulling her hands away from his. "I left a basket of weeds in the middle of the garden."

"Do you want help with it?" He asked softly, sounding unsure if he should offer his help or not.

"That is rather polite of you, my son," came the sweet voice of Empress Anveena. The two blinked their eyes in amazement. Has she been standing there the whole time?

"Would you go and take care of that, then? I wish to speak with Lilly alone."

The gardener wanted to hold Aslan back as he left the company of the two women. Never once had Anveena asked to speak with her. _Alone_. It could only mean that she had done something bad, something the Empress' did not take kindly to. She could feel her heart racing and her palms becoming sweaty. The presence of doom hung over her shoulder like a heavy fog.

"My dear child," Empress Anveena smiled, observing the frightened stare in the gardener's eyes. "Do not be so uneasy, there is nothing you have done wrong. Come, will you walk with me?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Lilly replied walking alongside her majesty.

"Please, there is no need to be flattering. 'Anveena' is appropriate enough."

The two walked on for a little while. Somehow, Empress Anveena was able to start up a conversation about plants and the Gardens, which grabbed Lilly's attention fairly quickly. The great woman left an unexpected impression on the maiden. Aslan had never spoken bad of his mother, and she now knew why. The Empress didn't try to act superior to all those who are below her, but rather engage with them. A tactic that very few people of her sort of rank attempted. The gardener now believed what many people said about the Great Empress-Beyond-The-Sea. She was tremendously beautiful, both inside and out.

After a while of walking, the two women sat underneath the shade of a young tree, which stood on the edge of a courtyard filled with the scent and beauty of exotic flowers.

Another trait the gardener found astounding of her majesty. She wasn't terrified of the dirt and grass. Simply, she pulled back her skirts and laid them out once she sat down. Her feet were slightly visible from under her maroon dress. Golden flats, with a pointed toe, studded with small gems that covered up the stitching in the shoe.

"They look pretty, but they are terribly uncomfortable." The Empress said, noticing Lilly looking at the flats.

"Isn't it improper to show your feet?" The maiden asked inoffensively.

"Who is to say what is proper, Lillian?" Anveena said with a smile, slipping off her shoes, revealing her toes, which were red from being pressed against the pointed top of the shoe for so long. "Proper is in the eye of one's self. Now, from what I heard you and my son talking about, there is some sort of ball?"

"Princess Jadis of Charn's twentieth birthday celebration, Anveena."

"I see, and I overheard the Prince asking you to go with him."

"He did. But, Your Majesty I do not think it right of me to go."

"And why do you say that?"

"I have no clothes fit for an occasion such as a ball."

"That can be easily changed, my dear girl. Come with me to the castle, I believe I have a trunk filled with dresses proper for such an occasion." Her grace rose to her feet once again, and slipped back into the golden flats. Lilly hesitated at first. The thoughts from before started coming back in her mind. She had no right to be going to a ball. She was a gardener. Her place was here, in the yards, making sure the Gardens are always in perfect condition. Yet, here she was being asked by the Empress to try on clothing that no one of her status ever dreamed of wearing.

"Lilly?" Anveena pressed. "I know this seems very odd of me to invite this on you. But, you have been a very dear friend to my sons. My appreciation for it runs deep in my heart. Now, my eldest wants to take you to a ball. The least I can do is give you a few gowns that I no longer wear. However, my offer lies in your decision. Whether you wish to go or not is up to you."

The maiden rose to her feet, a grin bent the corner of her lips. "I cannot thank you enough for giving me this privilege, Your Majesty."

"Think it a gift, dear Lilly, a gift in return for the gift of friendship and dedication you have to Mohthelieum and its princes." Anveena said warmly, the sincerity and kindness evident in her voice. "Come, I believe Helen wished to assist in helping you pick out dresses."

**A/N: Ok so fanfiction is being mean and will not let me post the URL to the refs. :( Well, if you go to Google, type in DeviantART it should take you to the site its on. In the search box there, type in:''Before the Golden Mane Refs'' I'm pretty sure you'll get it. It's the pencil/paper one that has a lot of people and a dog and horse in the pic :) If you still can't get it, message me and I'll try and send the URL from that. **

**Sorry it isn't in color, I may attempt to post it in color later, but for now use your imagination and the descriptions given to you in the book. I would like to know what you think of the refs. Was it what you imagined? Does someone look uglier than you thought? Does Morgan look like a horse or a goat with long hair :O? Don't forget to review!**


	23. Charn and All its Glory

Due to later discussions between the Prince, the Princesses of Charn, and his own friends, it was planned that those who were invited from Mohthelieum would stay over at Charn for the ball. Three days, one of those including the day of the masquerade. The older ones, Aslan, Lilly, and the other three knights, did not need approval for their trip and left as quickly as possible. As for Prince Stelan and Lady Helen, they had to ask permission first, which both of them felt very unfair. They _were only_ ten years younger than the others.

If there was one thing to know about Charn, it is that it was very old. The world had passed its prime hundreds, possibly thousands of years ago. Yes, Mohthelieum was probably older than this place, but then again, Mohthelieum never endured any wars or experienced famines, plagues, or corrupt Emperors. Charn showed these obvious, historical creases within the walls of its own castle. All the buildings had a general style of architecture, every door and window was an archway and every roof was raised by pillars. The roads were paved with old, worn bricks. Every structure was a light yellowish, cream color. Only the castle was painted differently, and that was the color of a rich brown. Like that of a healthy, young tree.

Fields in the outskirts of town filled the air with the sound of slaves and laborers groaning and panting from their work. Inside, the sounds of wheels creaking, chariots thundering, merchants screaming, and the coughs and laughter of the townsfolk all muddled together in the busy courtyards surrounding the castle.

Upon reaching the great palace, the guests were given a servant to lead them to the Throne Room. It was a good thing someone showed the group the way, otherwise they would have gotten lost fairly fast. Every hall had a good two or three archways (which were placed in between two large pillars), that lead to other halls. Many of the passages looked the same, almost nothing was hung up for decor. No paintings of battles, no portraits of past rulers, not even a sort of object that represented any of the Magi. The only time they found some sort of decoration was a large stone fountain, which had a statue of a winged beast, with a lion's back legs and tail and a sharp beak which spewed out clear, cold water into a stone basin below it.

"Their Majesties are just past here," the servant said as he turned into another corridor.

The passage they just entered was by far much more unique and astonishing than all the others the guests walked through. Hundreds (though no one was really keeping count) of waxworks sat in stone thrones that lined up against the walls. The details in the faces and clothing was incredible. The figures looked so real, so life like that one could expect one of the statues to get up out of his or her seat and walk on down the hall.

"This is our most famous passageway in all of the castle." the servant explained as he walked on ahead slowly, as his group trailed behind looking at all the statues. "The Hall of Images. Our beloved rulers, from the beginning of Charn up to our latest King, have a place here in this hall."

"Who made these?" The Prince asked curiously, as he and Princess Swanwhite viewed a elegant woman, who's fair face looked to be smelling something disgusting.

"Princess Jadis herself," the servant answered. "She has a great fondness of sculptures. I cannot tell you her secret, for I frankly do not know how she did it. All I know is that there is a spell on the statues that never lets them age. Their clothes shall never disintegrate, the paints and wax shall never wear away. Charn can be in total ruins and these statues will look as if they were made yesterday."

"Amazing," The Prince muttered as he went on observing the other sculptures.

"Aren't their robes just beautiful?" Lady Helen exclaimed.

"I could not agree with you more, Helen!" Princess Swanwhite added, joining her in looking at another wax Queen.

With the help of the Empress and Helen, Lilly looked and could deceive anyone into thinking she was of royalty. She learned to only respond to someone when they called her 'Swanwhite' or 'Princess Swanwhite'. Her clothes could make even the richest girl jealous. The fib was going relatively well. It would be put to the test once she would meet Charn's fine ladies.

After the guests looked at almost every wax figure they could, they made their way into the Throne Room.

Unlike Mohthelieum, it was a square-shaped room. Six windows on the left and right walls, which were stained glass (the other windows they saw had no glass in them). Banners were hung on pillars that stood in between the arched windows. The floor here was marble, with a few gold tiles that made a geometric design on the floor right in front of the step that lead to two, large thrones. In those thrones were Jadis and Ferona.

"Your Graces," Ferona said sweetly, as she rose from her seat to bow for the Mohthelieum's princes. Jadis, though, did not get up to bow before the Prince, but examined all the faces he brought with him. Either way, both boys nodded their welcoming to both ladies.

"I thank you for coming, Prince Aslan and Prince Stelan," She said, however the gratitude lacked in her voice. It sounded more serious than grateful. "I will make sure your stay here is welcoming and hospitable." Ferona, who was still standing, followed her sister down to the two boys.

"My brother and I thank you greatly for inviting us to such an occasion," Stelan said, trying to imitate how his older brother would respond. He did a fairly good job. His voice was regal and strong, good enough for any prince his age. Both boys kissed Jadis' and Ferona's hand.

Princess Swanwhite caught a glimpse of Jadis' cold, green eyes staring at the Prince's golden ones. It was a stare she found too welcoming for her taste, but she could say nothing of it and quickly shook it off.

"Now, I wish to know whom else you brought with you. Would the Prince care to introduce me?" Jadis was referring to Aslan. He did not want to turn her suggestion down, and did as she asked him. He went down the line at a normal pace.

"This is Sir Charon...this is Sir Tomas...This is Sir Xavier...Lady Helen...and..."

The gardener noticed then Aslan and Jadis standing in front of her. Swanwhite felt her chest pounding, her arms tensing up. If Jadis could tell she was not really what she was claimed to be, Lilly would be either sent back or remain here, and endure the worst three days of her life.

The Prince's amber gaze was cheerful and warm. Lilly could also sense pride and affection within those bright irises too, but she ignored it. She was already trying to keep her face looking as noble and civil as possible.

"This is Princess Swanwhite of Ettinshore," He said. "A very good friend of mine."

Both women looked the maiden up and down multiple times. Aslan's eyes told Lilly to keep calm and they would think she have nothing to hide.

"Tis a pleasure to meet you," Ferona finally said, making a smile as she curtsied.

"A pleasure to meet you," Princess Swanwhite replied repeating the Princess of Charn's action.

Jadis was not so quickly to greet her. This woman was around the Prince's age, she could tell. She was beautiful, her hair perfect, her eyes green like Jadis' own. This woman had already been labeled in the Princess of Charn's mind. _Competition._

Jadis' father had been trying for years to get Kalecgos to allow a marriage between her and the Prince. What a trophy that wedding would be! She would become and Empress, rule over _everything_. An ambitious goal she had ever since she could remember. She could picture it now: Jadis, The Great Empress-Beyond-the-Sea. And based on how Aslan stated Princess Swanwhite's name, this girl was standing in her way of her ultimate target.

"Tis a pleasure to meet you," Jadis muttered, lacking the welcoming voice she gave the others before.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Princess Jadis. I heard this ball will be magnificent. A masquerade, correct?" Swanwhite said kindly.

"Yes, it is." the Princess of Charn curtly replied. "I am hoping it to be magnificent. Though I do believe it has already accomplished its magnificence, after all, our own Prince Aslan has so greatly granted us his presence here."

Lilly held back a smirk of triumph when she saw the Prince's discontent expression to the comment. If there was one thing Prince Aslan did not like, it was people groveling at his feet. The Princess of Charn would have known that if only she knew Aslan better than she currently did.

"Oh, what is that on your hand?" the maiden asked, pointing to a cloth bandage tied around the palm of Jadis' hand.

"This?" Jadis said, looking to almost completely forget she actually had a dressed wound. " Erm, I was practicing my sword handling the other day, my opponent's blade sliced my hand. There is no need to be fussing over such a little thing. I've had the best doctors Charn could offer look at it. I need no other's critique on how the wound should be healed."

Princess Swanwhite was caught off guard by such a response. She didn't imply what she wanted to have a look at the injury, she just wanted to know what happened. "I apologize, it is not my business to know. I only was curious of how you got it. Not that I wanted to look at it."

"Yes, well, curiosity did kill a cat once, Princess Swanwhite" Jadis remarked tartly, as she turned and stood back in the center of the group.

''Well, _I _think she likes you," Prince Aslan said quietly into Lilly's ear.

"Shut up," the maiden muttered teasingly.

The sisters had shown their guests to their rooms first. All the bedrooms were together, all in the same hall. Privacy was granted for their dorms, doors were in place instead of the continuous design of archways. Each room had a large mattress with an exquisite bed frame. Dressers, mirrors, chairs and tables in all of the rooms. Accommodations fit for the richest of royalty. However, none of the quarters had windows. Making the rooms fairly dark, unless lit by candlelight. It was a very different compared to how open and bright the rest of the castle was.

Afterwards, it was scheduled by Princess Jadis to take the seven royals on a tour of Charn. The two youngest, Stelan and Helen, immediatley accepted the offer. Xavier, Tomas, and Charon appeared to be fairly tired (either that or they were not fairly interested in walking through what they already had walked through) and decided to turn in for a little while, instead of coming along. The Prince was tempted to join them, but Princess Swanwhite appeared fairly keen on joining the younger ones. And, well, he wanted to see the rest of the castle. At least, that is what he told the others as his excuse for going.

The Princess of Charn led them through nearly the entire palace. Showing them general rooms, such as the dungeons, torture chambers, courtyards, the ballroom, and also halls of some sort of incredible history. They passed one room, the Old Banquet Hall, where Jadis claimed her great-grandfather invited seven hundred nobles to a feast and killed them all before they were even drunk off the taste of wine. The reason was because of the nobles' rebellious thoughts. Swanwhite and Helen found the story rather cruel themselves. It did not seem fair to murder men who have different opinions than of yourself. But, then again, Lilly had little to no experience with politics and Helen was still a young, innocent lady. They were not familiar with radical opinions that could endanger a ruler from his or her throne.

It was quite odd to the girls that the majority of the castle consisted of prison cells, execution rooms, and torture chambers, which were far from anyone's ear to hear. A clever trick to disguise such a secret. Were the crimes here that terrible to deserve such punishment? Mohthelieum rarely had to deal with these sort of trials. Yes, many people were executed on the Moht's grounds, maybe just as many imprisoned but never to this rate. Where the castle held five thousand prisoners in tight, smelly cells awaiting to be killed.

Once finishing the tour in the castle, the Princess took them out into the surrounding city. The noises of talking, laughing, and the hustle and bustle had vanished. The streets were empty, except for a few stands, which were covered by tarps. Windows were shut, townsfolk concealed within their homes. It was probably around the early afternoon now. Unless Charn had a very strict curfew for its peasants, none of the guests could understand why no one was still out.

"It's so quiet," Stelan muttered, somewhat frightened of the eerie silence that filled the town.

"Yes, well, today is a holiday," Princess Jadis replied. "It is the date of a historic battle that took place that won Charn's independence. It is tradition for our citizens to cleanse the streets and feast inside."

"Why? Wouldn't they be celebrating all together? Like a party or festival?" Lady Helen asked, thinking that that was a strange tradition for celebrating a battle.

Princess Jadis did not respond, but started to talk with Prince Aslan. "Tell me, Aslan, does Mohthelieum's city compare to this one?"

"No, frankly it doesn't," He replied calmly, his response unclear whether he was admitting it was grander or insulting that it was worse. "However, a tradition such as this is new to us. We have no celebrations similar to it at Moht. It is quite _unique_."

"_Unique_ meaning _stupid_," Stelan muttered to Lady Helen, who softly giggled after hearing the remark. Aslan's ears caught what his younger brother said, and it took one look for the younger prince to shut his mouth.

"Oh! What is that up there!" Jadis exclaimed, gazing father up the road.

Not too far ahead of the group was a hunched figure, a woman, wrapped in murky, old cloths. Her feet were bare and covered in blisters with small can shaking her hand. Beside the woman were two children, a boy and girl, who looked to have not eaten in months and coughed worse than a old man with a cold.

Jadis stomped ahead to the beggar woman, while the others trailed slowly behind.

This was an insult. The Princess of Charn demanded the city cleansed when she took the royals through. She had her own army run through the town and scare off any homeless, ugly, poor, begging people off the street. The town could show no imperfections. Charn had to look strong, beautiful, rich with culture. Not rich in poverty. And now, a rebellious fool decided to have the nerve to stay where she was and disobey the higher authority.

"Woman," the Princess began slowly, and calmly. "Have you not heard the law? The city was to be cleansed today. My soldiers went through and told your kind to hide in the shadows, go home, anything. Why are you still on the street?"

"Please your majesty!" The woman cried, falling to her knees and grabbing the skirts of Jadis' dress. The children stood back, holding each other in terror. "I heard the news, I wanted to leave! But, I have no home, the government took it away from me. I have no food, no money. The shadows are full. My feet ache and are numb from all my walking. My children are sick and are deprived of medicine. Have mercy, princess, I meant no harm. I have nowhere to go!"

"Silence, fool!" The Princess shouted, kicking the woman off her gown and into the brick road. "I do not wish to hear all your sufferings! You say the government took your home? I can put you in prison for speaking so harshly of Charn's rich and fair kingdom! You disobeyed a law, that price is paid by the death." And when she said 'death', Jadis happened to pull a dagger from her belt and rose it high over her head.

The children ran up to their mother and grasped on to her thin frame. Dirty tears rolling down their cheeks. "No! Momma no!"

The beggar pleaded through her weeping for the Princess to spare her life. However, Jadis' expression remained unchanged, cold and unmoved. No pity dwindled in her green eyes, and no regret when the dagger rapidly rushed toward the woman's chest.

"Enough!" was the loud, angered voice. The Princess of Charn was in shock to see Prince Aslan's hand had seized her arm, freezing the dagger's motion right in the middle of its path of travel. He tightened his grip until Jadis finally dropped the dagger.

"How dare you!" Jadis exclaimed, pulling her arm away. "This is not your country. The punishments here are taken care of by me-."

"Which are consented by _me_!" the Prince replied angrily. That rare fire was blazing in his eyes. He was furious, and Jadis was too proud and brave to know it was better to back down. "This is rude and embarrassing of you to make such a scene in front of us, your guests. She has done nothing worth death."

"Disobeying the law-."

"Disobeying _me_ will dethrone _you!_" This was not like his character. It was uncommon that Aslan bragged of his power. Of what he can do above everyone else. Most time this was his tactic to get an ignorant, cocky idiot to back down their own bragging. Which was working in Jadis' case, for she said no more after he threatened her crown.

"This woman and her children shall be spared, and I will see to it that you have done as I said, Princess Jadis." The Princess of Charn reluctantly blinked her consent, and with that walked off back to the palace. The other three were unsure of what to do, whether to stay where they were or to follow Jadis back. Eventually they decided to return to the castle, leaving the Prince alone with the beggar woman and her children.

"Thank you, sir," the woman whispered in both surprise and awe, clutching her children close to her body. Aslan bent down to her level, his hand placed over the medal can in her hand.

"Swear to me to tell no one, absolutely no one, what has happened and the charity being given to you." He said seriously. The woman nodded violently, from what she witnessed, she knew this man did not tolerate much.

Just after she agreed, the cup in her hand suddenly started to feel heavier and heavier. She looked down, noticing the man's hand no longer covered the cup. Pieces of gold filled to the rim of the can. Charn's currency, the real thing, no counterfeit. There was enough in there to buy many niceties of which the poor family lacked.

"Use it only for what you need," the Prince said. "It will vanish if you decide to spend it foolishly." The beggar once again nodded her understanding. Aslan then turned his attention to the two sick children who were wide eyed and puzzled on what they should do.

"Come, young ones," He said gently, beckoning them to step forward. The boy inched up first, and once the girl noticed her brother's advances, she did the same. A hand laid on both their heads. "Rise, you are healed of the ill." And as this was said, there was a minute of silence, no coughing, wheezing, or sneezing. The color came to the little children's faces, their fevers went away. The boils and rashes vanished from their skin. The tiredness and weakness shaken from their eyes.

"Momma! Momma! You hear that? I didn't cough, not once!" the girl cried jumping up and down in excitement. The woman's eyes were rimmed with tears of joy and appreciation as she saw the life come back in her children's faces.

Feeling there was no other way to express it, the beggar clang to the Prince's neck in an embrace of deep thanks. Her tears staining his doublet.

"Bless you, sir, in the grace of the all that is holy, bless you!" The man's hand gently patted her back until her joyous crying ceased and her hands freed him.

"You are welcome," He murmured, the happiness bright in his golden eye. "Remember what I have told you of this."

"I will," She said, pulling her children close to her side as they hugged and kissed their mother.

The Prince then rose from his knee and stood back up, beginning to walk off away from the family.

"Wait!" the little boy cried after him, Aslan turned around, remaining to hear what the young beggar had to say.

"What is your name? Who are you?" the child asked, wanting to know who was so kind in giving his family such gifts.

A smile bent this man's lips. His gold eyes flickering with both mystery and joy. "I am nobody for I am myself."

The words left the trio confused and in awe. The name of their savior was never known to them, but it his act of kindness was never to be forgotten. All their eyes focused on the image of the man as he walked back to Charn's castle, until his figure disappeared in the darkness of a distant passageway.

**A/N: Some of the scenes in here are based off of memories my mother had/told me about when Cuba turned communist. Most of the parts are pretty distinct, and I hope some of you readers caught on that Charn has a somewhat communist monarchy thing going on. **

**I also tried to mix in Aslan acting like Jesus Christ here too, so I would like to know what you thought of that bit, and well what you thought of the chapter in general. I thought it came out fairly well myself. Especially since I had to continually refer back to **_**The Magician's Nephew**_** to make a description of what Charn and its castle looked like. Please, review!**


	24. The Pawn and The King

"She was going to _what_?".

The younger prince and the two girls found their way to the castle, without the help of Jadis. They had lost the Princess of Charn early on as they were heading back to the palace and hadn't seen her since.

Now, the collection of six were in Charon's room The older boys laid on the bed passing around a bottle of sweet, red wine while the other three laid on the carpet just below the front of the bedposts; sitting and talking about what had just happened.

"Kill a poor woman and her two children," Princess Swanwhite replied, her voice slightly raised in irritation as she recalled the event in her mind.

"Why?" Tomas asked.

"For sitting on the side of the road." Stelan answered in the same tone as Lilly.

"See?" Charon began as he took a sip from the bottle of wine. "I knew this Jadis was some sort of mad woman the moment I saw her when she first invited us in."

"I couldn't agree more," Swanwhite remarked bitingly.

"Well, you did say something about her saying the city was to be _cleansed_?" Tomas said. "Did the beggar not obey the rule?"

"What does that matter Tom?" Xavier said, his voice suspicious of how the knight seemed to be siding with the absent princess. "The family had nowhere to go." After saying this he directed this comment to everyone. " The least I would have done is shooed them off, not kill them where they stand! I may be a knight but I am no tyrant."

"You should have seen Aslan's face," Helen stated, drawing away from the subject of the Princess of Charn. "He was absolutely furious."

"He would never sit there and watch something like _that _happen," Stelan said a matter-of-factly. "I would not have been surprised if he had to break her arm to make her let go of the knife. He would have done it."

"He is just, what else can we say?'' Charon said with a shrug of the shoulders. "Speaking of Aslan, where is he?"

His answer came when a door from outside the room creaked open then shut loudly. Aslan's sleeping quarters. All eyes looked to one another in silence. _Who's going to check on him?_

Most pointed to Lilly, then some to Stelan, but in the end, Helen was the one who offered herself to see how the Prince was feeling.

Fearlessly, she stepped out of Charon's room and into the silent, carpeted hall and toward the nearest door on the right. As carefully as she could, Helen placed her palms on the door, bending her head low and to the side, until her ear pressed against the smooth, wooden door. Nothing. The room was just as quiet as the hall she was standing in.

Then suddenly her wooden prop fell from under her palms, almost causing the young girl to fall. Though, being taught vigorously of how to maintain balance (as all young ladies of royalty _must_ know) she regained herself.

Leaning against the open doorway was a smiling Prince Aslan. "I heard you, Helen."

"And I thought I was quiet this time." She sighed in a joking disappointment.

"Come in," He said, tilting his head into the room.

"We were wondering if you were alright," Helen said once she and the Prince settled themselves in two chairs that stood on the sides of a chess table.

His eyes flashed in a moment of confusion. "I am perfectly fine. Why do you suspect something wrong?"

"You looked like you were going to rip off Princess Jadis' head!" Helen laughed. The Prince's warm chuckle followed the statement, he remembered being almost angry enough to attempt such, but his morality had more control than his rage did. That was why Jadis, the Princess of Charn's life was spared that dreadful afternoon. "That is over with now. The family is well off and Jadis, I pray, learned a lesson."

"I doubt it." Helen sighed shaking her head. "She doesn't seem the type to heed another's advice, let alone apologize for her mistake."

"If she does not want to be granted forgiveness that is her choice," Aslan stated, as he slid one of the pawns back and forth from the black square it was placed on to the white square just in front of it. "It will only make things worse on her in the end. Who's in the other room?"

"Everybody else," She said with a smile. "We were talking about the incident. Telling Charon, Xavier and Tom about it. They side with you."

"Even Tomas?" Aslan said with a raised brow.

"Yes," the girl replied, somewhat surprised by the Prince's reaction. "Why do you think he wouldn't side with you?"

"He's fond of Jadis," Aslan said quietly. "Ever since he met her six years ago he's had this hidden emotion for her. There's a sparkle in his eye every time he lays eyes on her.''

"I never noticed this," Helen said, her hand placed on her chest in disbelief. "Is she-?"

"Even I cannot tell," He said with a laugh in his voice, trying to brighten the conversation. Talking about Jadis was like its own little spell, a spell that can turn a happy, wonderful conversation into a gloomy, awkward one. Aslan had to find something to send the spell away.

"Did Stel ever teach you how to play?" Aslan asked.

"What, chess?"

"Mmhmm."

"No. My father taught me once, but I couldn't understand all the different moves the pieces made."

"I taught Lilly-um-I mean, Princess Swanwhite. I can teach you."

"No, thank you," Helen protested politely, then added: "The game just doesn't appeal to me as it does to you boys. What is this one?" The young girl held up the heavy, golden piece form the chess set. It's top was a sphere that sat upon a column, who's base curved outward and became fatter around the base.

"A pawn," The Prince replied. "It can only move straight. To capture the opponent's piece it must be diagonally one space away from the opponent's."

"That makes absolutely no sense. This pawn sounds to be absolutely worthless."

"In some cases it is. That is one reason why they take up the entire front line, so they can be sacrificed so the more powerful pieces can be used for attacks."

"So, if one was to compare the pawn to something, would it be a peasant soldier?" Helen asked.

"Perhaps, one could think it that way." Aslan responded with a wrinkled brow.

"And what does this piece do?" Helen asked as she lifted up one of the larger pieces on the checkered battleground. A distinct crown circled the flame-shaped ''head'' which was attached to a long column that also grew fatter around the base.

"The king," Aslan stated when he recognized the gold figure between the young girl's hands. "The one piece that is so vital to winning the game yet it does not have the power to move more than one space on the board."

"It's like the pawn, then?" the girl asked.

"Not exactly, the pawn can only move straight. The king can move one space in any direction."

"But, can't all the other pieces move more than one space?"

"Yes,"

"Then they _are_ alike. It is rather odd, don't you think? The most worthless piece on the board has the similar ability as the most important piece. Wouldn't the most important piece have more power, since it is vital for winning?"

"What are you trying to say, Helen?"

"The king is just as powerless as the pawn. As powerless as the peasant soldier. If it was alone, anyway. but if the King was accompanied by the pawn, it would be stronger."

Aslan's golden eyes grew wide for a brisk moment. He wasn't entirely sure if it was Helen's intention for him to interpret what she said the way he did, but it came off strange that this was the first analogy that came to him. He pictured himself as that contradiction of a king, and Lilly as the pawn. To someone else just playing the game, she would be considered worthless, a scapegoat, a nobody. The first to do away with. But to him, the king, she meant life. She meant hope. She meant a victory that had to do with more than just the game. And if he lost her, he would inevitably be defeated in both the battle and in his heart.

Thoughts were circling his mind like a terrible hurricane. A battle with reality and his true feelings went on in the thundering, windy clouds of his brain. _She's a gardener, you are a Prince. _

_ I am exactly the same as she is, a title changes absolutely nothing._

_ What would the others think? You would be considered a dishonor for falling for someone lower than yourself._

_ I do not care what anyone else has to think. They can call me a dishonor, it would not be the first time a person has called me that._

_ It has been fourteen years since you met her. You've hesitated this long. Why? Because you have been debating your feelings! If you cannot flat out say it, that is not a good sign. _

"I will not hesitate any longer," He muttered to himself, sending the final blow to the heart of these thoughts that had been holding him back for so long.

"Aslan? Are you alright?" Helen's voice distracted him. The Prince closed his eyes tight and rubbed the unfocused sight away.

"Yes," He muttered with a tired groan. His mind was still muddled with his thoughts. "I just need to rest."

"I'll go then. You do look rather tired. Come back later to Charon's room. We'll probably be spending the rest of the day in there."

"Sure," the answer was blunt and fast, half distracted and half paying attention to what she was saying.

Helen walked to the door, opened it with little noise and left without another word. She headed back to Charon's chamber, probably to tell everyone how Prince Aslan suddenly seemed sidetracked about something.

He sat on the edge of his bed. His fists opened up to reveal a small, gold pawn in his right hand, and a king in the other. He focused hard on the two chess pieces. Anything else in his vision was blurred out. The thoughts had one final wish before they took their dying breath. _Say it, out loud. Say that you love her!_

"I love Lillian Anna Swanwhite." Prince Aslan said aloud, the confidence clear and denial lacking. He finally admitted it.

A rush of relief and freedom fell over him like a wave hitting the white, sandy banks of the Eastern Shore. All the second-thoughts he had, gone. The worries and troubles of confessing what he felt, vanished. The conquering thoughts sounded their victory with the murmur of truths. _You go to the garden everyday just to see her. When you talk to her, you loose yourself, at times, in her beauty. Her touch makes you want purr, if you only could. And you know she feels the same way about you. You have waited too long, now is the time to tell her. _

The Prince fell back onto the mattress of his bed.Taking in the soft, comfortable feel in a giddy, drunken sort of way. Everything seemed vivid, more pleasurable now, he felt so overjoyed he could have ran to find Jadis and apologized to her, even though he was not the one who was supposed to apologize.

After the few moments of this high, Prince Aslan heaved himself back up onto his feet and walked back over to the chess table to put back the pawn and king. Only this time, he arranged them a bit differently. He placed the two pieces in the center of the board, beside each other, with all the other pieces facing them. Yes, it was the wrong placement. The wrong order, it wasn't the proper set up.

But frankly, Aslan didn't give a damn.

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter seems kind of sloppy and rushed, I've been stuck on this chapter for too long and wanted to finish it and get it posted. Don't forget to review!**


	25. Halo

Princess Swanwhite lit a candle in her dark room. The soft, yellowish light lasted a moment, and then blew out. She groaned in irritation. This was the fifth attempt to light this small, excessively used candle.

In the darkness, she fumbled through the drawers in her dresser trying to find more candles to light up her room. She tried all the ones she found, only to notice that their wicks were, too, completely used up.

" ' I will make sure your stay here is welcoming and hospitable.'" Lilly said, mimicking Jadis' voice. "A few good candles wouldn't be such a bad idea either!"

"Need a light?" the sudden deep voice startled Princess Swanwhite and made her turn to where the voice came from. It was the Prince, standing in the doorway. His face lit up by a small flame on a dark-colored candlestick.

She managed to grin. "You always know when I need something don't you?"

"It comes with being the Emperor's son." He said with a hint of a laugh, handing her the candle.

"Thank you."

The maiden walked back to her dresser and placed the candle on top of a gold dish that, judging by the piles of different color wax which rimmed its curved edge, was used for holding the wax sticks. The new light illuminated the entire room in an orange, blurry glow.

Aslan could now see her a bit better with the illumination. She had changed from her beautiful light blue dress from that morning into a silky, pure white night gown. Nothing revealing, I can assure you, but with the candlelight shining against the fit of the gown, it was quite a complimenting silhouette.

"You're still in your regular clothes," She observed, as she shut an open dresser drawer. "Did you plan on sneaking out in the middle of the night? Leave us all here to endure with the mad Jadis?''

His soft chuckle made her skin tingle. "I would never leave you all to suffer the discomfort I have brought upon you with the Princess of Charn."

The maiden asked him to sit with her on a sofa that was placed beside two arm chairs and a short, gilded table. "You say that like what you did was a bad thing." She noticed Aslan seemed distracted. His eyes were staring deep into something that was not present in the room.

"Is something bothering you?" She asked with concern. Her hand gently rubbed his strong forearm, which finally caught the Prince's attention.

"Would you mind taking a walk with me in the courtyards?" The Prince requested in a way that seemed rather unexpected and quick for his nature. The reason why he was still in a doublet and wearing his silver circlet seemed much clearer now.

"At this hour?" Lilly asked with a raised brow.

"I cannot sleep," it was partially a lie, but he continued with an honest statement. "And, I would be glad of the company for awhile."

That giggle of Lilly's lingered through the air as she rose from her seat and stood in front of the Prince.

"Sure."

The night was cool, and every now and then a breeze rushed through, slightly swaying the oil lamps which lit the stone path.

"Here," the Prince said handing her his cloak, once he noticed that Princess Swanwhite had her arms folded around her chest to preserve the warmth her dress was deficient in.

"I should have changed into something warmer," She muttered as she draped the thin, but cozy cloak around her shoulders like a blanket.

There was a silence between the two of them for awhile as they walked along in the quiet of night. There was no noise except the sound of their shoes hitting against the stone pathway and an occasional squeak from the lamps when a breeze rolled by.

Princess Swanwhite looked up to the sky for a moment. The moon looked so small against the dark shroud of night. The stars themselves, were barely visible. She felt small under the distant eyes of the heavenly bodies. To them, she probably looked like a pebble among a garden of boulders. Barely noticeable.

"It looks so far away," She murmured, her eyes still pointed up.

Aslan followed her gaze. "Farther than Mohthelieum's moon anyway," He said unemotionally. The Prince had traveled to many lands over the course of his young life, he had grown immune to how different many of the places he visited were compared to his beloved island home.

"Do you remember, when you, Charon, Xavier, Tom and I were younger; we decided one night we were going to try and touch the moon?" She recollected, a wandering tone to her voice.

"Of course, I do." Aslan replied, making the memory seem to be one that was completely unforgettable. "We set up our base behind a pig pen that belonged to the town's butcher. We brought anything we could carry and made a tower of it right there by the fence."

"And once we finished?" She went on, testing if he could remember what happened next.

"We did rock, parchment, sword to see who would go first. I lost. I climbed about half way up and the tower of junk toppled over and I fell into the mud pile a couple pigs were sleeping in. Then I cursed so loud it woke the butcher up. He thought we were robbers and came out with a steak knife in his hand. I could never step near that house again for months."

The memory broke off into laughter.

"You looked hilarious covered in that pig filth." She remarked between breaths.

"Not as hilarious as you did the time when that sheep frightened you into that pond." He mentioned, laughing fairly hard as he recalled the occurrence in his mind.

"It was charging at me! What did you expect me to do?"

"I don't know, I was laughing too hard to think."

The two talked on further of these sort of accounts. The ones that would make one laugh if told, but make them red in the face and cry from how humorous it was back then. All the trouble they almost got themselves into, all the secret jokes that they only knew circled around them.

The talk once again slowly transitioned back to silence.

The two spotted a tree a few yards away from the paved road they were standing on. A huge, thick branched tree that would dwarf even Mr. Burr, one of Mohthelieum's largest trees.

"What tree is that?" The Prince asked to his foliage genius.

"Not sure," She said, squinting her eyes to try and get a more detailed look. "But I want to find out." In moments, she had left his side and started walking toward the towering tree. With a long exhale and a shake of his head, Aslan decided to follow after her.

"Ah, I can recognize this bark anywhere." She stated competently as her hand ran up and down the dark wood of the tree. She followed this statement with its breed name. A name that I, myself, cannot write down because the name was rather long, sounded to have many accents, and was very difficult to spell. The Prince didn't even ask how she could do that. How she could immediatley name a plant, flower, bush, or tree by the texture of the bark or by the shade of green on the stem or any other way that appeared unusual. He never asked because it grew onto him. He could recognize plants almost as good as her. However, she still was the best at it.

"Come on," She pressed as she pulled herself up onto a low hanging branch. Sitting on it as if she was sitting on a horse. "I want to try and touch the moon again."

"I hope you fall like I did," He called jokingly as she pulled herself up to another branch above.

"You are too nice to let me fall." She replied along with a playful green stare that was very similar to the stare of a wild, wood nymph. "Come on! Unless, are you afraid of getting a rip in your nice leather vest?"

"Very funny." He wouldn't allow her to say something like that and not do anything about it. He climbed up after her.

This was a sport both of them were gifted in since they first met each other. Climbing trees, I mean. Both made it a little over halfway up the tree in minutes. Where as it would take a less experienced person probably a good twenty minutes to get where they were.

The Prince heaved himself up and over a large, thick branch. He looked down seeing Swanwhite still climbing up after him. "Here's good. " He called below. She reached out her hand, and he pulled her up with little hassle.

This spot had a spectacular view of the palace. No other leaves and branches obstructed the quiet, dreamy scene. The castle was a dark blue in the shadow of night; with dwindling candle lights in distant windows of sleeping royals. The bright lamps which lit the path the two were just walking on looked like tiny orange specks that outlined every curve in the stone road. They could see hedge borders that cut the large courtyard into smaller, organized gardens. Not a soul was out. No servants, no guards, no other prince and princess that decided they wanted to go for a walk as well. It was only Princess Swanwhite and Prince Aslan.

"Well, can you touch it from here?" He asked her as his eyes blinked toward the tiny, far off moon.

She closed her right eye and lifted up her hand. She held the soft, silver sphere between her thumb and pointer finger. "Perfectly." Then with a loud, crunching noise, the moon disappeared as her thumb and finger pressed together. The two laughed softly. It wasn't every night someone was close enough to the moon to be able to fit it in their hand and were able to squeeze it like a grape. A mere gardener just accomplished it.

There was a silence again. Princess Swanwhite pulled the ends of the cloak closer to her body as a cold breeze rushed past. She looked down at the piece of clothing for a moment. It was so warm, so soft. It had this scent to it, a smell that was sweet and inviting, nothing, not even the beautiful aroma of flowers compared to it.

"You seem to have a fondness of my cloak?" He said with a gentle laugh, noticing how she was sniffing it as if the smell was irresistible.

"It just smells very nice, that's all." She stiffened as she rose her head from the fabric, her cheeks turning red.

A soft _hmpf_ hummed through Aslan's smile, which faded into a serious frown. Despite the distance of the moon, its light hit the maiden's face like a spotlight. The elegant outline of her profile was bordered in white, as if she was glowing like the stars in the heavens. Her eyes pale as the image of the grey crater danced in her pupils. Her skin as creamy as the ghostly light.

_She looks so beautiful._

"Aslan, can you answer me this honestly?" Lilly asked as she slightly inched closer to him.

"Don't I always?" He replied gently, noticing the troubled look in her eyes.

Swanwhite swallowed hard. He was praying that she was trying to get out the words he so desperately wanted to hear.

"Why did you invite me here?"

His gold eyes met the bough of the tree. Not exactly the words he thought would come out. _What do I say? What else you idiot! You have to tell her. _

Swanwhite waited patiently for her Prince to give an answer.

"Why would you think I wouldn't?" He asked, seeming to be trying to avoid responding to the question directly.

"Aslan," The maiden said as her inquiring eyes blinked into a more serious and demanding stare. "Never before did you ask me to come along on those trips you take so frequently. You've taken Charon and them, once even took Helen with you, but never me. Even the time when I decided to tag along you weren't very 'pleased' of me coming."

"You're still not holding that against me are you?" The Prince asked with a raised brow. "I told you why I was upset."

"No, I know," She sighed slowly. "I got over that a long time ago. It's just-"

"'Lil?"

She closed her eyes when she heard how caringly that sweet name came from his mouth. Her inhale was caught somewhere in her throat. Her chest rose up to swallow the air down. He had her cornered with her own question.

She felt her heart beating so fast, it was like someone was punching her from the inside her ribcage. Was it supposed to be this difficult? This painful to explain? This part seemed so much easier in those fairytales of old, where the three words came off the tongue as if it was normal conversation.

"I haven't gotten over that night six years ago." was the quiet and timid whisper. "The night where we were about to kiss."

Lilly felt the touch of something warm on her arm. The Prince's hands had taken her elbows and pulled her closer. In the moonlight, the simple silver crown around his head looked like a halo that rimmed his messy, blonde hair.

_An angel._ She thought blissfully. _My saving grace._

"You wish to know why I invited you to come with me?" He asked in almost the same tone as her, except he lacked the defeat and insecurity.

She blinked her answer. Yes.

His golden eyes were soft and filled with a heavy emotion that, at the time, she was too afraid to say out loud herself. "Why do you think things happened the way they did that night? And the night before that one, when we were sitting together under that tree on the hill? Why, over these years, we've come to known every single detail about each other? And why everyday I go down to the gardens just so I can talk to you? It's because...because-"

One of his hands reached up and began combing through her smooth, wild curls.

"I love you." He murmured to her.

The words came out unhurried and low. The short silence that followed allowed the two of them to drown in the release.

The tenseness that went all throughout Swanwhite's body suddenly fell limp in the Prince's arms. Her green eyes gleamed in a way that would have made the bright, yellow sun jealous. He felt one of her hands run up his chest, the sensation causing him to take in a long inhale.

"I love you too." She whispered breathlessly as she felt his hand holding her neck.

Their eyes caught each others. The anticipation of the moment caused the Prince to breathe faster. He brought her face closer, she didn't resist. He felt both her hands ring around his neck as both their foreheads touched. His mind blurred out, he couldn't think for there was nothing to think about. He couldn't hear for it was absolutely silent. He couldn't see for he had already closed his eyes. All he could do was feel. Feel the warm, soft, wet touch of her lips against his own. Feel one of her hands as it started to stroke the edge of his face, her fingers gliding over the short, golden stubble of a immature beard. Feel the silk of the dress as he put his hands around her waist.

They were caught in their moment, for what seemed to be like hours. It was like they were transported somewhere where time did not exist. Where time couldn't be gracious and let something go by slowly or where time was torturing and let something go by fast. Life had been paused, and only did it resume when their lips broke away.

"So, the Lion fell in love with a Swan?" She finally whispered intriguingly, her nose tenderly rubbing against his own.

He opened his eyes, seeing her face in a much different way than before. She looked more dazzling now, almost heavenly. Like it was too good to be true that she was sitting there right beside him. He could feel a giggle trying to rise in his throat at the sight of her, but gulped it down just in time. The giddiness, the love drunk stupor was thick in the air.

Aslan kissed her again. " I think that shall be the simplest way to put it." He replied.

**/!\ : I recently got a review from someone who has said that my story has been too focused on the romance. I could not send a private message to the reviewer, so I will explain myself here. I was just trying to develop the pairing into its final outcome, which if you read, is now accomplished. The Dark vs. Aslan theme has just been put on hold for that purpose. I apologize for that, I have realized I may have gotten a bit carried away with it. I promise, Dark is now going to be in the story more frequently now. If I left anyone thinking that the antagonist hasn't been getting the attention he deserves, I'm sorry. He's going to be getting it from here on out. **

**And one more thing, may reviewers have asked if Aslan will be turning into a lion in this story. The answer is **_**YES**_**. Just be patient, he will turn into his fuzzy, golden, lion self soon. More things just need to occur before we get to that step. **

**Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review!**


	26. Only fools live in the Darkness

Only the fools live for the Shadow

**/!\ This chapter contains an instance of strong language and a scene of minor risqué material, reader discretion advised.**

Next morning's dawn came late, the pale tawny sunlight squeezed through from under a large curtain in Princess Jadis' room. A balcony, that was less and less frequently used. It was the sun. The sun bothered her. Too bright, almost blinding and too hot, to the point where it scorched her skin. The cool and shade of her bedroom, as any part of the interior of the castle, appealed to her taste better.

She pulled herself out from under the black and teal sheets of her bed. She woke up because of her hand. She was in pain.

Jadis kicked her feet over the edge of the mattress. Her feet dangling over a rug that was given to her by her father's second wife, a polar bear skin.

A painful hiss whispered past her teeth as she undid the bandage. The swordsman responsible for this ''wound'' must have been an artist, for I tell you, I have never seen such a detailed picture done by a sword. A long, narrow figure curved around, making the shape of a circle in the middle of its body. What looked like a head was to the side, fangs bared and its tongue long and thin that cut the tongue off in the middle into two little tongues.

_ The Dark Mark! _

The image of the serpent was red like a scalding rod of iron, and it hurt like one too.

_It wasn't like this last night! _Jadis thought as she rushed to her bathing room, which was connected to the bedroom. _What have I done against it? _

She filled the basin beside a mirror with cold water that a servant left for her that morning and submerged her hand deep into the sink. Thin lines of steam rose up like fog in a forest from the water. Gradually, the pain began to fade away. The glowing red had died down to a faded grey color.

_It doesn't like the fact you were originally Ancient, your grace._ The voice was low and clear as it came into her thoughts. _The Dark Magic still has yet to adjust._

"Where are you?" The fearless princess of Charn called out, her eyes scanning the entire room for someone, some _thing_. She recognized the disembodied voice that lurked somewhere around her, for he had paid her many visits this year. Helped her become a greater harvester of magic, a wiser ruler, and (though she did not know it) a colder, heartless woman.

_The mirror. _Her eyes immediatley flashed to the hanging silver frame that held a picture of glass. She saw herself, pale but beautiful, even now when it was still so early in the morning.

Then, according to the image in the mirror, a few feet from the white tub behind her appeared a dark grey flame of smoke. Blazing furiously, never spreading throughout the room, but remaining in its flame shape. A pair of small, beady red eyes came into view. The cloud of smoke stopped its blaze and fell to the ground, only to be caught and transformed into a black cloak, concealing the body of Dark, as well as his face. But his beady, glowing red eyes remained visible in the open hood.

"Do not turn around. I am not there. You can only see me through the glass." He said this because her eyes started turning in the direction of the bath, expecting him to be there. "It is too risky of a move to show myself in such an extreme of public."

"Why have you come?" Jadis murmured, bowing her head low and kneeling before the great Lord of Darkness.

"Because you were intelligent enough to get the Prince right in the palm of your hand." He sounded somewhat pleased with her work, but it was hard to differentiate under his serious tone. "You have the intellect of your mother, daughter of Lillith. A great follower of mine, she was. Just as you have the potential to be."

"I did not bring him here for bloodshed," She said, realizing Dark's understanding of her plotting was that of assassination. "I invited him for-."

"Power." His hiss sounded irritated. "I know, I can read your emotions. You believe that Emperor Kalecgos will finally succumb to the idea of an arranged marriage between that_ monster_ and yourself. That you will be able to hold a power greater than any woman in the realms. An ambitious dream, but it has already been destroyed."

"By whom?"

"_Her_." Was the slow, bitter response.

As he said this, from under his cloak came an hideous looking hand that bent out an ugly, bony finger. He traced a circle in the air that transformed into a cloud of white smoke. The image of a woman's face blurred into sight. Eyes as green as a well watered bush in spring. Light brown hair with the most perfect curl. And a face that Jadis loathed because of its remarkable beauty.

"Princess Swanwhite?" She said, her voice sounding eerily calm, though her long fingernails dug into the side of the basin.

"_Princess_?" Dark exclaimed, with what sounded like a low snicker. "You believed him when he told you that that woman was a princess? My young, inexperienced harvester, if there is one thing you must always remember is to never trust anyone who acts as if he is the Nameless Emperor. Outside, they appear saintly. Inside, they act as cruel as I appear in those foolish stories they make up of me." He paused for a moment, and told her again to look into the white cloud.

What she saw was something that never occurred during the night, but simply something Dark made up. He knew the princess of Charn did not just only want to marry the Prince because she was just as power hungry as himself. But, because of an small, underlying feeling. By all circumstances, he had to destroy that emotion while it was still weak and build it up into hate. Pure hate.

An image of Aslan came through the cloud, the back of Princess Swanwhite's head covering most of his face. His eyes were closed and his fingers ran through her hair as if it was the softest material in the world. From Swanwhite, the muffled sound of a moan could be heard through their heated kiss. Jadis felt her head pounding, as if this reality was somehow smashing her head into the bathing room's marble floor. Abruptly, the princess' tongue broke away from the Prince's and she stood back in fright.

"Are you alright?"

Swanwhite didn't move.

"Princess Swanwhite-."

"Don't call me that!" The maiden said disapprovingly. "There is no one here with us. Call me by my name."

"Lilly," He murmured as he pulled her back into his arms. "Tell me what is wrong."

_Lilly!_

"Do you not realize what we are doing!" Lilly exclaimed, tears rimming her eyes. "You are a prince, heir to the Emperor's throne. I-I'm the daughter of a gardener!"

_A what? _Again, Jadis took another hard blow to the marble floor.

"Lilly," One of his hands began to stroke her cheek. His thumb wiping away any straying tears. "You won't have to worry of that anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"We've given each other ourselves, body and soul. Lilly, when we get back to Mohthelieum I want to make you my princess. I'll give you it all. Everything, it will be yours. If you only give me consent."

"Yes!" She exclaimed as she leaped into his arms. "Yes, yes!" And then the scene faded out into the murkiness of white.

Jadis looked at Dark, a rage building in her eyes. "A gardener? The second-highest ranking man in all of the realms, who could barter himself the richest, most beautiful lord's daughter he wants; desires a filthy whore that sits in the dirt! The fool!"

"I agree with you, my Princess." Dark cooed engagingly. "Servants should only be used as they are supposed to be. Working for the will of their ruler. Not trying to equalize themselves with them. Aslan_ is_ too much of a fool to understand that. Your ambition may be destroyed, but that does not mean you cannot rebuild it again. There are other ways of gaining higher authority than just marriage, Jadis. I witnessed many. Many you can put to your use. Ferona, she is eldest is she not?"

Jadis lowered her eyes. "Yes, and father's favorite."

"Rightful heir to the throne," Dark went on musing, feeling the rising of jealousy and anger in the princess of Charn. "That can be changed by one simple action. Clean or unclean."

"Kill her?" the princess gulped.

"That would be one way," He said. "Don't make such a face, princess. I can sense the satisfaction you are feeling of having that heavy crown on your head as your people call you ''queen''. With my help, that can all come to be. You will bring terror to your enemies, be respected by your followers, and feared by all. Jadis, Queen of Charn soon to be Empress over all the Realms!"

The power that came with those titles made the Jadis' skin tingle. "What must I do?"

Dark's red eyes squinted in delight. "Kill Aslan."

Jadis made no expression, she did not blink, she did not breathe. The cloaked Magi took it as her say-so. "The night of the ball, I will come to you again to give orders. That night, if you succeed, you will destroy the future bloodline of the Nameless Emperor. Leaving Mohthelieum wounded and sullen. Easy to attack. You will be able to hear the dying breath of that worthless peasant girl and see the look on the Prince's face as you kill her right in front of his eyes."

Dark reached out to her from the mirror. His hand almost touching her shoulder. "Touch my hand. It will seal your obligation to me."

Jadis resisted a moment. Was this what she wanted? To be known as the person who murdered both heirs to the Mohthelieum throne and her sister in cold blood? All she wanted was to become a queen. Did it mean she had to do all of this?

"You know you can't do this alone." Dark hissed.

Her green eyes blinked. He was right. She needed more power, more help to become Empress. Yes, Empress. Being queen would never be good enough. Never. Whatever it took, she wanted the power and the Lord of Darkness was handing her the best offer.

The princess' hand slowly reached out to the mirror. Her fingers twitching with pleasure. All her dreams could come true, in just one more night. Dark's plans were promising. She had no doubt in her master. In moments her fingers touched the image of his hand. A blue light sparked from the glass into the princess' fair skin.

She threw her arm back from the pain of the blue electric shock and examined her hand. The Mark was now black, all the Ancient Magic inside her had vanished. The air grew heavy with the presence of strength and power. Dark Magic was pumping through her body, and it felt-_good_.

"You have powers as great as the Prince's now. He would have to put up a fairly good fight to take you down." Dark paused a moment, his voice grew stern now. "Jadis, _do not_ disappoint me. You are the only daughter of Lillith that has the potential that I have been looking for many centuries."

"I promise, my lord," She said as she bowed once again before Dark. "I will not let you down."

His cloaked image disappeared and left the bathroom as if the Serpent was never there. His warning echoing even after he was gone: "Do not disappoint me."

Princess Jadis looked at herself in the mirror. She saw herself with the crown of Charn upon her head. Then, herself in battle. Fighting for the throne of the white castle on that eastern shore. Herself being crowned, again, only this time as the Great Empress Beyond-the-Sea. Her sister, the Emperor, the Empress, Prince Aslan, Prince Stelan, and all those against her rule, done away with. Dark promised her great power. She trusted his words.

"Your grace?" a slave murmured as he quietly entered his master's chamber. Jadis could hear him opening the curtain that concealed the balcony outside her room. He was letting in those warm, white beams of sunlight.

The princess left the bathroom and reentered her bedroom, where the slave stood quietly waiting for her to appear.

"Yes, slave?" She called coming into the light from the shadows of the bathing room.

The man's eyes widened in terror. A silent scream made his mouth drop open. He thought at first, his eyes were playing tricks on him or maybe he was actually still sleeping and was now witnessing nightmare. Whatever it was, something was wrong with his master. She looked older, her skin a sickly pale that made her look as if she was dead. Her lips red like freshly sacrificed blood in the temples. And her eyes, pitch black. No soul was in her irises. Horns! Tall, transparent horns came out from her head. A white dress with the skin of a polar bear hanging over her shoulders was what she was now wearing, not the usual bare-armed gowns of Charn's latest fashions. And surrounding her was this thick cloud of black.

The slave fell to the floor. "By the soul of Arknen!" the slave cried. Arknen. The god of the Sons of Adams and Daughters of Eve on Charn. Most of them were slaves. Their uselessness as harvesters of magic made them excel at true, hard, physical work. "A demon! A demon has taken my master!"

"Silence fool!" Jadis scolded, trying to make herself sound less confused as her slave. What was he seeing that made him make these assumptions? Nothing like this happened before. "What are you speaking of!"

"Be gone devil!" the slave screeched as he pointed his finger at her. "Release my Princess! Witch! Witch! Jadis has been possessed by a witch!"

"I said silence!" She ordered furiously, raising her hand out to grab the slave by his shirt; only to realize as she bent her arm out the Son of Adam went flying back into the wall. The force of impact into the stone bricks broke the poor slave's skull. He fell lifelessly back onto the floor of Jadis' bedroom. Blood trickling out of a large gash on the back of his head. His screaming ceased. His life as a slave ended by one smooth movement from his master.

Jadis stared at her arm. She cast no spell, no incantation read in her mind. How did this happen? Was the Dark Magic powerful enough that she no longer needed spells to perform magic? She rose her hand up again, focused on the corpse of the slave and the wall that was now slightly cracked where the slave's body originally hit. Again, he was thrown against the wall only this time the force was far greater. The corpse broke through the stone bricks, revealing the lovely blue sky that her tower barely touched. The slave landed with a loud _thump!_ somewhere down far below.

The Serpent had blessed her with extraordinary power. If a Son of Adam was killed just by the motion of her arm; how much harder would it be to get rid of the others? Plans for the night of the assassination started to come into her mind. How she would corner them. Who was to die first, and if Prince Aslan should be killed slowly or swiftly.

Her blood was rushing at the fast pace caused by the Dark Magic. Her ears were filled with the ringing of ambition. She could not hear that little, saddened voice in her head choke out its last, innocent breath before the shadow of this power overcame it.

_What have you done?_


	27. Paper Faces On Parade, Masquerade!

Masquerade, Paper Faces on Parade, Masquerade!

The ballroom was filled with servants and slaves as the finishing touches were made for the ball tonight. Foreseeing the final progress was Ferona. Jadis came in later, after she welcomed some early arrivals into temporary rooms to stay in until the party. The younger princess of Charn brought two thin glasses of sweet Champaign with her and stood beside her sister at the top of the stairwell.

"Drink?" she offered handling her sister the bubbling glass. Ferona took the drink from her hand.

"It looks lovely, sister," Ferona said gently as she watched the servants scurry about like mice in a panic. Her fingers twisting around the thin part of the glass making it spin. "Many people shall be pleased with the extravagance of this room."

"Thank you," Jadis murmured impassively. "I hope the rest of the guests feel the same way."

Even now, when the sun was still at its highest peak, guests were arriving very early. Extra rooms were given to them so they could settle down a bit before the masquerade began. Jadis knew almost none of them. All were invited thanks to the courtesy of her older sister. She could recognize faces, but befriend them she never did. This ball was the perfect time to mingle them, she was going to need allies sometime in the future. It was best to start making them tonight.

"To your twentieth birthday, my dear sister!" Ferona stated giving a toast, her glassed raised waiting for her sister to do the same. "May it be a night you never forget."

Jadis held back a toothy grin. "I won't forget it." The high pitch ting of the glass hit and then both took a sip.

Ferona suddenly began to cough. Hard. Gagging on the Champaign. She dropped the glass, it shattered on the floor into tiny shards.

Jadis grabbed her sister by the shoulders. "What did you put in my drink!" Her sister exclaimed between heaves.

"Rohypnol," Jadis said quietly with an evil smirk. Ferona's eyes grew wide with both fury and alarm. "You've been looking rather exhausted lately. I felt it be good to give you something to make you sleep."

"You sneaky daughter of a-." Ferona never finished her sentence. She fell to the floor, eyes shut and breathing rhythmically as if she was asleep. The amount of Rohypnol in her drink was a high dosage, but no enough to kill her. Just enough to keep her in a sleeping state for the whole night. She would wake up tomorrow and would not remember a thing. A side effect of the drug.

"Sister?" Jadis cried as she violently shook the limp body of the eldest princess, pretending to not understand what was happening. "Ferona? _Ferona?_ Servants! Guards! I am in need of assistance!"

A band of five men and women came to their ruler's side. A thin maid, by the looks of it a little older than Jadis, bent down beside the unconscious princess. "She was poisoned!"

"Poisoned?" Jadis gasped, the fright distinct in her eyes. "Oh by the Nameless Emperor!" the princess broke off into tears, wailing as if her sister was actually dead.

"Come," the servant women called to the others. "We must get her to my lady's chamber! Perhaps there is something we can do! Quickly now!" The other servants ran to the girl's side, and all helped in lifting up Princess Ferona. They carried her up to her room as hastily as they could. Not stopping to ask questions as guests wandering the halls looked on in bewilderment.

XXXXXX

The masquerade had begun. Lords, ladies, princes, princesses, dukes, duchesses, kings and queens appeared in the ballroom. All in costume; barley recognizable with all the extravagant masks that covered their faces. Princess Swanwhite stood in the entry way that led into the stairwell. Her hands were on her chest, entwined in anxiety.

"There you are!" Lilly recognized the voice behind the yellow and black mask. Helen. She was supposed to be a canary. Her dress was short, black and yellow like the feathers of the beautiful, small bird and wore black dancing slippers. A clever idea that the designer of Swanwhite's own costume never thought about. Even though her feet were concealed under her gown, she had to wear the pointed-foot shoes that matched with the dress.

Both girls held an excited embrace.

"You look amazing!" the young girl exclaimed as she clapped her hands together in eagerness.

"Indeed you do," that was Charon's voice behind Helen. He wore a disguise that mimicked the look of a dragon's face. Green scales and horns which extended from the sides of the mask. His icy blue eyes were distinct and bright by the dark shade of green. Swanwhite hugged him as well.

"Do you know where Aslan is?" She asked.

''He's already in there." Charon answered, his head nodding to the entrance of the ballroom.

"_Already in there_?" Lilly repeated nervously.

"Stelan is too, we got here late." Helen said attempting to calm the gardener down. ''This is your chance! You wanted to surprise him and you can. Trust me, Swanwhite, he'll be speechless when he sees you."

Lilly felt something strong reach over the crook in her arm. Charon had took her arm up. "Come on, I'll walk you in."

"No it's alright," she said trying to pull her arm free. "I don't want to go in yet."

"Are you going to wait until the ball is over? Don't be nervous, everything's going to be fine!" Helen encouraged.

Lilly looked at Charon. His eyes were persuading her too. "May I walk you in, Princess Swanwhite?"

The maiden took in a breath and smiled, wrapping her hand around his upper arm. "Yes, Sir Charon. I would be glad to have you walk me in. Wait, what about you Helen?"

"I'll come in right behind you."

The coal-haired squire walked her through the doorway. A servant who was dressed for the occasion asked for their names. Lilly preoccupied herself by looking out onto the ballroom floor. The tune of a fast paced song echoed throughout the grand room. The dancers only complimented the song greater. Dresses twirling, feet moving. Masks everywhere.

A pair of guests stuck out in her gaze. A young boy, who she recognized as Stelan, pulling on the arm of an older man. His face was concealed by a golden mask. It was made to look like the face of a lion. His gaze was amber, making the man look all too feline from a distance. _Aslan!_ She started to feel lightheaded again.

"It's alright," She heard Charon mutter as he tightened his hold to make sure she didn't fall.

The servant rose his loud voice over the music and announced their names: "Sir Charon of Mohthelieum and Princess Swanwhite of Ettinshore!" Suddenly all eyes were on them. Most looked on in awe, they were staring at her. She just knew it. The burns of their gaze made her even more nervous than before. Charon took her slowly down each step, allowing the guests to take a good, memorable stare at her.

The Prince turned to the staircase once he heard Swanwhite's name called. There was Charon, holding her by the arm.

Her entire costume was white, a pure innocent white that shined like the sun in the lighting of the ballroom. Her gown was strapless. The puffy material that hung low around her arms that revealed her bare shoulders were merely there for decoration, not support. Her cleavage was slightly pushed up from the white lace corset of the dress; which had genuine pearls sown into the fabric, just like in her mask. The skirts bowed out but only enough where the striking curve of her hips was still visible. Silk gloves reached to her elbow and covered her lovely hands and forearms. Generally, Aslan admitted she was a very beautiful maiden. But tonight, right now, seeing her like this; she was beyond beautiful. Gorgeous past words.

The gardener broke off from Charon and came up to the dumbstruck Prince. "Well?" She engaged, twirling around to let him see the whole gown. "What do you think?"

His eyes were locked in on her.

"Uh..."

''I thought you'd be speechless!'' She grinned but then it faded to a frown as she noticed his blank stare. "What is the matter? Don't you like it?"

"It's amazing on you." He murmured as his fingers began to knit in with hers.

"I like your mask." She complimented as her free hand ran down the lion's nose.

"Aslan! Swanwhite!" The two turned around to see Jadis approaching them. Like Swanwhite, she also went with the same color choice for the dress. Except the material used looked like raw cotton that was picked straight off the plant. The design was the bottom layer of this white and then an oddly shaped checkered design over it. One space would be transparent and the next one would be this shiny light blue-tinted fabric and so on up and down the dress. Her mask taken the appearance to look like it was made of real ice. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and a crown that mimicked icicles sat on the top of her head. She looked like a tall, beautiful mountain of snow.

"Jadis," the Prince was first to greet her, giving the princess a kiss on the hand. "How is Ferona?" The news of the older princess spread quickly throughout the castle. Many people were asking questions. Questions that Jadis was starting to become annoyed with as they were being continuously asked.

"She wasn't poisoned after all!" Jadis said with sigh of relief. "It was just a high dosage of a sleeping drug. Doctors say she'll be up and about by tomorrow morning. Though I am happy she is alright, I am upset she had to miss this. She told me she was so looking forward to being here tonight."

"Why wouldn't a sister want to be present at her sibling's birthday celebration?" Swanwhite said kindly. For the first time since the two had laid eyes on the Princess of Charn, she actually smiled. It was a small one, but a grin none the less.

"Thank you, Swanwhite," Jadis said with a slight bow of the head.

The song that was just being played ended. A new song took its place and judging by the sound of it, the song probably correlated with a stately dance Lilly was not familiar with.

"Oh! This is a favorite in the courts of Charn!" Jadis exclaimed. She reached out a hand to the Prince, asking him to dance.

Aslan flashed a look to Lilly, she knew why he was hesitating.

"Go on ahead," Swanwhite pressed gently, untwining her hand from his own. This was when Jadis actually noticed they were previously holding hands. "I am not particularity familiar with this dance."

"I will be out there in a moment, your grace," the Prince said to Jadis.

The princess glared at Lilly for a moment. The filthy girl had stolen his heart. Dark _was_ right. The nerve of her pretending to be of royal blood! This must all be one huge joke to her. The audacity of that peasant!

"Just be out there once the dance starts." Jadis said with a bite of irritation, returning back onto the ballroom floor.

The Prince turned to Swanwhite. "Save me a dance." He requested as he kissed her hand.

The maiden nodded her head, slightly making her curls bounce. Knowing his life would be in danger if he didn't rush after Jadis, he quickly set out after the princess of Charn.

Just then, another man asked Swanwhite to dance with him. Not knowing exactly what to do, and not wishing to be rude; she thought it harmless to allow one dance with this stranger.

Lilly and this lord found a spot beside Helen, who was dancing with Stelan and Charon, who was dancing with a girl with brunette hair that went past her breasts. The man placed his hand around Lilly's back, the touch was awkward and uncomfortable. She placed one of her hands on his shoulder. Their other hands remained free for as it seemed it was tradition for one arm to be open in the dance. The clicking of a baton filled the sudden silent air, and then the previous formal tune from before played over.

It was a somewhat slow paced dance. The only part of your body that felt to be really moving was your feet. Your back, your hips and chest were stiff. The free hand was used to express a dance gesture at certain parts of the dance. Lilly thought about the wild dances of the Trees. Where every part of your body moved and would hurt and ache in the morning. Were it was fun and the music was loud and fast. It was to the thanks of the Nameless Emperor that this song did not last long. Swanwhite felt as if she was going to collapse from boredom.

The man she danced with thanked her and left her sight quickly. To her understanding, he left at such a hurried pace because she must have looked like a fool trying to wing it through the whole dance. She knew none of the hand movements or steps as everyone else seemed to know.

"You did well," Stelan said positively, patting Swanwhite's arm. "For someone who had no idea how to dance it anyway"

"Thank you, Stel." Lilly sighed sadly.

"Don't worry, Aslan's a bad dancer too." He added trying to cheer her up. He succeeded. "He cheats by using magic."

"Thank you, Stelan." She repeated only this time she was smiling.

For most of the night Swanwhite stayed off the dance floor. She sat with Xavier, Tomas and Charon in a parlor area which was serving several kinds of alcohol, having a few drinks herself. Every once in a awhile, Stelan and Helen would appear.

Aslan, never did. She rarely saw him. Only when she was asked for a dance did she find him dancing with another girl. He told her to save a dance for him. When would that happen? When the masquerade was over? It was starting to anger her that he invited her to come to this masquerade, make her go through all this trouble and lying only to be ignored the whole night.

After spending a few hours with the now somewhat drunk knights, she decided to walk back out onto the dance floor. She recognized Jadis, dancing with a short man who looked like a dwarf compared to her height. She kept her eyes peeled for any men who seemed keen on asking her to dance. Her feet would not tolerate much more, and to embarrass herself for the seventh or eighth time tonight was out of the question.

"Lilly," The voice was quiet and low.

Swanwhite was about to scream when a finger pushed against her lips. She looked up into the golden mask of a lion.

"You scared the soul right out of me!" She muttered once his finger left her lips.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you all night." He asked.

"I could say the same." She grumbled, begging that he notice she was upset that he had been avoiding her this whole evening. Right now, she wanted to fight, let out her rage. She didn't care if all the people present heard them arguing.

"I'm sorry," He said with a sad sigh, taking a different approach to her anger than expected. "I could never find you before someone asked me to dance with them."

"You could have said no." She said quietly, realizing his apology appeared sincere.

"It is out of respect, love." He murmured gently as one of his fingers pushed back a loose strand of hair from her face. "You could have said no to all those other men, could you have not?"

She lowered her eyes, the silence told him she knew he was right.

"Come," He said as he lifted her drooped head. "You still saved that dance for me, right?"

Her feet begged her not to. The blisters were throbbing worse than a migraine. Every step felt like she was walking on hot coals. "Yes."

It was much later in the night now, most of the guests who were dancing with such gusto before had either left, spent the rest of the night in a separate room in the castle, or were relaxing their aching feet in the parlor. Once Aslan and Lilly stepped out, less than twenty couples stood around them.

"Not so many eyes to see your dancing, eh?" He said with a smile as his hand ringed around her waist. His touch was warm, not like the other men she danced with. Both her arms ringed around his thick neck. Her fingers running through his messy hair.

"You saw me?"

"You did well, for knowing absolutely nothing about it."

"Heard that before."

The tune being played now was slow, like many of the other songs before. It was soft, like a lullaby and really expressed the exhaustion the band was feeling after playing music for so many hours. There was no specific dance to this song, most of the others around them moved slowly in large loops. It was one of the last songs of the night, and the sleepy air was thick.

Swanwhite, rested her head on the Prince's chest. They were barley moving, their dance was basically spinning around like a the slowest top ever made. She felt one of his hands gently stroking her shoulder, pulling her in closer until they became one. His cheek rested on the top of her head.

"We have company," He mumbled as he pulled her away and spun her around.

She glanced to the far left of the dance floor. There were the others. All in a little cluster, as if to anticipate something. Lilly had a few guesses of what they were waiting for.

"What say you?" He asked her as he pulled her back in. They were still now.

She let out a soft laugh. "I think it is time they knew."

Both of them looked to their friends and family. The five of them stood by, with happy eyes and imminent screams which were to come. No one looked disproving, they all knew this would happen.

Prince Aslan and Princess Swanwhite gave them what they wanted. Both held a long kiss. Soft and gentle, like the other night. They could hear the noise of clapping and triumphant cheers and when they broke away, found themselves surrounded. All the knights and Stelan were on top of Aslan, slapping his back and telling him it was about time. Helen expressed her joy through thrilled squeals as she hugged Lilly. All the other couples had left the dance floor, whether in disgust because of the obnoxious scene the seven royals were making or because the song ended was unclear. The night was now ending. The masquerade was over. Tomorrow they would return home and decided to turn in for the rest of the evening.

**A/N: Sorry if the writing was a bit 'bleh'. It was a tad bit rushed through. Oh, and ****Rohypnol, otherwise known as ''ruffies'' is an actual drug. Just in case some of you didn't know that or never saw ''The Hangover''. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


	28. Treachery

"Stelan?" Helen's voice echoed through the dark, empty corridors. "Lilly? Aslan? Xavier? _Anybody_?" Somewhere along the way back to their quarters she made a wrong turn, now leaving her with not the slightest idea where she was. No servants were around, the lights from hanging chandlers were quickly dying at this late hour.

The sudden noise of a door slam made the lost girl scream. The sound came from behind her, not too far down the corridor. Someone was up! Maybe the could help her!

"Wait!" She called out, running in the direction of where she heard the door close. "Is someone there?" As she walked through the dark hall she noticed there was only one door. A large one. She examined the entry for a few minutes, wondering what to do. The first instinct was too knock, but the idea something terrible might be lurking behind it made her hesitate. The night changed everything. In the light, she would have knocked, never thinking maybe there was some man-eating creature right inside. In the dark, it was all the opposite. Anything could be behind the door. Good or evil. Most likely, evil.

"Is everything set?" a deep voice growled from inside.

Helen didn't call out to it. The voice frightened her into a dead quiet. She noticed light shining out from a hole between cracks of the stone in the wall beside the door. The voice from inside was so distinct probably because of it. Slowly, she approached the hole in the wall. Hearing the ongoing conversation as her foot falls went forward in silence.

"Yes, master. I have a strong army waiting out by the castle wall. I plan on sending them into their chambers. They won't be able to fight off five at once all on their own."

That was Jadis! Lady Helen crept faster once she recognized the female voice. Her eye carefully focused in through the small window into the other room. She saw the princess, dress in a black gown of some sort. Whoever she was talking to wasn't visible through the crack.

_What on earth is she talking about? _Helen thought as she watched the back of the princess of Charn.

"The Prince could take on five with his eyes closed." That was the deep voice again.

"That is why I will send ten into his room. One will be my general who will place a spell on him to dull his senses."

Helen listened in terror. She begged to the Nameless Emperor Jadis wasn't speaking of _her_ Prince!

"And what if they are not there?" was the next response of the deep voice.

"I have the rest of my army standing by. We'll have them cornered. They have nowhere to go accept into my hands!"

"Excellent. Your plans seem promising. Just, a request my dear-."

"My lord?"

"Once you kill all those petty fools that _he_ so calls 'friends'. Leave Prince Aslan for me to kill."

Helen wanted to run, scream; something that expressed her fright. She knew now who Jadis was talking to. The princess of Charn had betrayed them, sold herself to the Lord of Darkness to bring him Aslan's head on a silver plate. She decided she had to find her way back to the chambers, before it was too late. Aslan had to know. He had to leave before any of this took place.

A jerk came over her mouth and pulled her into the shadows. She tried to squirm free, whoever was holding her had the grasp of a metal lock. Her cries were inaudible underneath the hand that cupped her mouth.

"Shh. Helen it is me, Aslan!" The voice was scarcely under a whisper, even as it ringed very close to her ear. Her fidgeting stopped, and once she relaxed he let her go.

"Did you hear all that?" She whispered, trying to be as quiet as she could.

"As much as you did." He sounded worried. For the sake of himself or for the others, that she could not tell. "I need you to listen to me. Do everything exactly as I say."

Helen nodded violently.

"There is a stairwell at the end of this corridor, go down it and you'll be back at our bedrooms. I need you to wake everyone up. If someone doesn't wake up fast enough move on to another room and wake another up and get them to help you. Do you understand, Helen!" His voice told her what was happening was serious. That everything had to be done precisely or it could cost them their lives. Again, she nodded.

"Go now, I want everyone in the hall ready to leave."

"What about you?"

"I'll follow after you. Go, now!"

The girl began to run, sprinting through the shadows, her footsteps stifled under the soft sole of her dancing slippers. Her footsteps only heard once she reached the stairwell.

The Prince inched over to where Helen was originally standing. One of his amber eyes peeked through. He saw the back of Jadis, wherever Dark was, he couldn't be seen.

"My lord, I will allow you your taste of victory."

"Do not go yet. I must inform you of the consequences if you fail."

"Fail? My lord I-."

"Silence!" Dark's retort echoed through the still hall, making even Aslan himself jump. "Jadis. If you fail, Charn will be excommunicated. Charn would be excommunicated either way even if you killed the princes or not. But if those two get out alive, it was not worth the risk. Once that occurs, your father will be dethroned. You and Ferona will be forced into execution because you were in power when this occurred, unless you sign a treaty of peace. However, the treaty will not go to you. For you will have seven eye witnesses to testify this hostage was of your doing. That is when I can no longer protect you, princess. Do I make myself clear? I may be a Magi, but the Emperor's magic and authority can outweigh me where I am weak."

The Prince placed his palm on the hole in the stone. This would by him time. Even if it was just a few moments, it was enough. Quickly, he mumbled a spell, his lips moving fast and fluently in old language of the Deep Magic.

Once the incantation was said a shot of gold dust, looking like the fastest arrow, split the air. The magic hit Jadis square in the temple. She fell to the floor straight away, unconscious.

"You fool!" Dark howled angrily, now realizing the presence of the Prince as he felt the boy's energy running past the door and towards the stairway. "You let him get away! He knows now! _Jadis_!"

Aslan sprinted for his life down the hall. He jumped three steps at a time once he reached the stairwell. His mission was to save the others. They had to be safe. The last thing he cared about was the fate of his own life. It was his fault all this was happening. He passed through the doorway which led into the passage where the others slept. Helen had done as he told her. Everyone was huddled together, throwing questions at her wondering what was going on.

"Aslan!" Lilly's voice was breathy and scared. She was in her nightgown, wearing his cloak over her shoulders to keep warm. She ran up to him, the others following close behind. "Aslan, what on earth is happening?"

"Jadis has betrayed our trust." He said to her, then turned his attention to the others. "This masquerade was all a plan for an assassination. Jadis has sided with Dark. Tonight they plan on taking us hostage. I will not allow that."

"How do you plan on that not happening?" Tomas asked, handing Aslan his sword and sheath.

"We have to find a window." The Prince replied as he tightened the belt around his waist.

"There aren't any here." Lilly remarked.

"I know one!" Stelan exclaimed. "It is few halls down. The window is right above the stables. We'll snatch a few horses and get out."

"Right, show us." Charon ordered.

The younger prince lead them to a small, globular room. A tall column with a golden statue of a gryphon was placed in the center of this small hub. The open window just behind it, and the flat, wooden roofs of the stables were just below.

Xavier clapped his hands together and almost instantly a rope appeared in his fists. The Prince tied the rope around the thick neck of the statue. The slack was thrown out the window into the alleyway. The youngest ones went down first. Then Lilly, then the other three knights then the eldest prince last. Once his boot touched the stone of the street, he cut the rope down.

The clopping of horses hooves was loud as the large beasts trotted out of the stables. The knights hadn't mounted yet. No one sat on the horses bare backs. They were waiting. "Aslan, come on!'' was the impatient whisper.

A thunderous noise shattered the silent air. An explosion of fire engulfed the stables, just missing the seven royals. Trapped horses whinnied through the flames. The roof collapsed almost instantly, stopping the helpless creatures' cries for help. The free horses started rearing up and braying in terror.

On the far side of the alleyway was a mass of soldiers, in the center of the frontline was a tall woman dressed in a black chain mail dress.

Jadis.

"Leaving so soon!" She cried out to the escaping guests. "You told us you would stay for breakfast."

"We want nothing more to do with you, traitor!" Tomas retorted back, spit flying in fury.

"You will not escape. All of you are outnumbered. I have troops all around the castle. You have nowhere to go except back inside." She threatened as her army starting to walk toward them. Their armor clanging with every step they took.

"Charon!" Aslan roared. Right away the coal-haired the knight knew what to do. He ran to the flames, his arms outstretched. His icy eyes focused on the now charging soldiers. "Now!"

The knight threw his arms at the army. The fire followed his motion. The devilish flames scorched the frontline and set up a blockade. More time they had to use to the best of their advantage.

"Helen, saddle up with Lilly, Stelan get on a horse!" Aslan ordered.

"What are you doing?" Lilly exclaimed in panic.

"I'm sorry Lilly," He said as he lifted Helen up behind the maiden in the saddle. "My first priority is to keep you safe. We'll hold them off for as long as we can. You need to get yourselves out of here."

"No!" She refused, grabbing his arm. "You're not safe here! I can't leave you!"

"You must!" His tone was hot but the emotion was also very thick in his voice. He didn't want this, but he wanted them safe. That is what mattered now. "Keep them safe, Lilly. Keep Stelan safe."

Tears starting welling in her eyes. "No, Aslan-."

"GO!"

He jerked the horse around in the direction Stelan's horse was in. Away from the madness towards the gates. The horses ran off in a mad gallop. Aslan watched in hopelessness. It was prophesized he had to endure a terrible fate in the process to destroy Dark. He knew what that was now. Death.

The ominous feeling of demise overwhelmed him. If he must go, he wouldn't drag down others to die with him. Mohthelieum needed an heir. And if it was time, that was Stelan now. He would only let his fellow knights fight beside for him as long as he felt they could hold them off.

The wall of flames suddenly was blown away. A cold air made them vanish. Jadis stood where the barricade just was, an evil grin on her lips.

''Now what?" Xavier said.

"This!" the Prince exclaimed as he rejoined the three. He stood tall, his legs spread slightly apart. His face showed pure courage, not even flinching at the sight of the nearing soldiers. He began lipping a spell. One that none of the knights knew. Slowly, the Prince's arms rose up. Palms to the sky. His face was now twisted in focus. "Awake!" he called out into the night sky.

His command was responded by a earsplitting screech. The terrible noise came from somewhere inside the castle and was enough to once again stop the charging forces dead in their tracks.

The window that had half the rope dangling from its sill exploded into a shower of debris and stone. Whatever made that screech was somewhere in that array of rubble, which came crumbling down on the left flanks. There were no survivors.

Once the cloud cleared the image of a gryphon appeared in the sky. His wings the size of two men. Talons as big as a steak knife, and as sharp as one too. His feathers looked to be made of solid gold. His eyes glittering like rubies. Aslan had made the statue come to life.

The great beast glided smoothly over the army, screeching like a banshee. With every beat of his wings a throng of black dust fell below. Jadis surrounded herself with a shield, the pelts of dust couldn't touch her.

The knights watched in disbelief as the faces of these men, these soldiers suddenly became wrinkled. Their eyes became filmy. Their once quick movements were slow and shaky. Awful groans and moaning loomed in the air. They had gone from strapping young men into elders who would be found on their deathbed.

One by one, all of them fell. Dead on the stone street. Jadis watched in horror as her men fell so easily around her. Only a lucky few surpassed the gryphon's wing span and were not touched with the aging dust. But their faces looked as if they had died witnessing the power that had just killed their fellow soldiers.

The sight of this sort of magic somewhat disturbed the other three knights. They all knew Aslan was a great magician. He was taught by the best. But, something of such caliber, something only Emperors have done rarely and the Nameless Emperor does every single day happening in such a mass was like hell before their eyes.

"What now, Jadis?" Charon called jeeringly to the princess. "Your army is almost completely wiped out."

"You speak to soon, knight." She said confidently, smiling as sound of armor clanging and horses' hooves beating came up from behind the four men.

Swanwhite, Helen, and Stelan had returned, following behind them was another band of soldiers twice as big as the first the four fought off.

"You just couldn't keep your mouth shut Charon?" Xavier groaned crossly.

The other three quickly dismounted their horses and joined the knights. All looked on at the mass of men running towards them. The Prince was weak, it took most of his energy to summon the gryphon to life, let alone give it the ability to age its victims. He knew he couldn't pull another spell that strong again anytime soon.

Charon took the lead now. "Stelan, Tom, Xavier, Lilly, come with me. We'll hold them off for as long as we can. Aslan, I assume you can handle Jadis? If we have any hope of taking them down it's defeating their princess."

"With pleasure." the Prince nodded.

"What about me?" Helen exclaimed, noticing she had no special task of her own.

"You'll come with us," Charon told her, grabbing her hand. "Stand behind me. If one of us falls, you must take their place. Understood?"

"Yes."

The six harvesters stood in a straight line, making a barricade of themselves. The frontline of Charn soldiers laughed at their petty defense. They would run them over dead in moments.

"We go from left to right," Charon screamed over the sound of charging men. "Give them your worst!"

"This was all for me, wasn't it?" The Prince called out to the princess of Charn. "My blood in exchange for a crown."

Jadis remained silent, her eyes glaring coldly as he approached her.

He unsheathed his sword. The blade tip raised in challenge.

"Men! Seize him!" She shrieked to her few soldiers that lived through the aging spell. As told, the soldiers rose their arms in attack. A good forty of them; killed in less than ten minutes.

_Impossible! No human can-! _ It was now Jadis understood Aslan wasn't _just_ a human. He was a harvester of magic. Taught only by the best Deep wizard in all of the Realms. His veins pumped the ancient and holy blood of Jesu, and he had power just as great as Jesu. Anything he did, it would be done with holy precision. Any smarter person would have surrendered, but Jadis was too proud to do such an act of submission.

Once he finished with the soldiers, the Prince began to wipe his red blade clean on the arm of his shirt. Panting as he taunted her hesitation to have at him. "Come Jadis, if you wanted a private duel you could have requested it. Must you spill the blood of your people in such a wasteful way?"

"They are my people and so therefore do my will. I can spill their blood however I want. Just as I will spill yours!'' She retorted.

The Prince extended his arm out. A strong, sudden force threw her back. It felt as if a giant had taken her by the arm like some rag doll and threw her across the room. She fell yards back from where she originally was standing. Her body hurt everywhere. Under her chain mail skirts her legs were starting to be painted blue and purple. One of her ribs felt broken. She tried to focus her eyes on the image of the Prince who stood rigid and proud under the light from the gap in castle wall.

His words were calm and mocking. "I'm waiting."

The other six had made steady progress. They had wiped out a good quarter of the army now, thanks to Stelan who made a whole side of the castle wall collapse over the mass of soldiers. Now, with the small hills of rubble, it was harder for the offense to get close to them quickly. Soldiers climbed over in smaller groups instead of one huge charge, allowing the knights to use their sword handling skills to the greatest advantage. However, there were more still coming. They wouldn't hold off the whole army using their energy like this, not when soldiers came spilling out like molasses.

"Charon!" Lilly called out to the knight. ''Use the fire!"

"I got it!" Helen declared as she stretched her palms out over the hot flames that still burned brightly amongst the black remnants of the stable. Her hands rose up far above her head, the flames did the same. She twirled around gracefully, still holding the burning tongues and then threw her arms forward.

Fire fell from the sky like a storm of rocks launched from catapults. Huge spots were indented in the army. Possibly another quarter done away with.

"Lilly, how's Aslan holding up!'' Charon asked when he was free of a challenging fighter.

The maiden looked back. Jadis stood tall like her regal self. Aslan was a few feet away from her, pacing like a hungry animal. An explosion of something white engulfed his image.

Lilly felt her heart stop for a few seconds. As if it too was waiting to find out if the Prince made it.

The white faded quickly, Aslan was still standing. The white powder was caught in his hair and rested upon his shoulders, he was shivering, but still standing.

"Come on Lilly! Did he kill her yet or not!"

"No! No, they're still fighting."

"Does he think he has the whole night!" Charon growled angrily. "Xavier, get Tom and Stel! Helen, Lilly get over here! I have an idea."

Lilly found herself distracted watching Jadis and Aslan fighting. Both of them were fighting well. Their spells were powerful. No one seemed to be letting up. Neither appeared to look weak. It wasn't a good sign. Both of them were tied, and neither side showed any signs that they were going to be caught off guard. Until Aslan made an error. Jadis said two incantations, he only was able to stop one. The other sent him flying against the stone wall of the castle, and once he fell to the ground he didn't get up.

_No!_ Lilly screamed in her thoughts. Jadis strutted up unhurriedly to the fallen Prince, already planning her last blow. The gardener couldn't let that happen.

She cupped her hands together and closed her eyes. In her mind, she pictured her bow. Long, with a gold sting and a quiver, full of arrows. The feel of her wooden bow came in her hands. The quiver was strapped to her back. She grabbed an arrow and lined it up correctly. She left the side of the other five and went running to the Prince's. Her bow raised straight and aimed. All she had to do was let go.

"I'm waiting," Jadis sneered, as she stopped in front of the Prince. His eyes blinked slowly. He couldn't gather his focus fast enough. The princess grabbed the neck of his shirt and had him against the wall. She mumbled another spell that made him paralyzed. He couldn't struggle, he was a sitting duck. "Dark requested that I leave him to do his bidding on you. But, then again. You, in a position such as this. Unable to move. Unable to defend yourself..." the Prince watched as an ugly dagger rose over her head. It wasn't like a regular blacksmith's work, no, instead of steel its blade was made of stone. His eyes were unmoving, staring, burning into hers. He would not die with a face that expressed fright.

Jadis continued on: "...Is just a situation where I will defy the rules. Despair and die you fool! Despair and-Argh!"

She let go of Aslan, breaking the spell that made him unable to move. _Thunk!_ An arrow wisped past his head and ricocheted off the hard stone.

Jadis held her arm, which was bleeding. The arrow's point grazed her.

"_You_!" she spat furiously.

Aslan's eyes widened once he noticed it was Lilly who let the arrow fly. She stood a few yards behind Jadis, bow still raised. A look of fearlessness was upon her sweaty, dirty face. She reloaded her bow, this time aiming for Jadis' head. "I am not afraid of you, witch!"

"Return back to the dirt where you belong, peasant!" Jadis retorted as her arm rose. Lilly didn't move. Her forest green eyes were burning with rage.

"Your words do not hurt, Jadis. I've learned to live with them.''

"Then maybe _this_ will hurt!"

A huge mass of burning rubble from the stables began to raise into the air. Aslan knew what she was doing.

"You won't lay a hand on her!" He protested, his fist meeting the side of Jadis' cheek. However, his attempt to stop the spell was too late. Once Jadis hit the floor, the air split with a terrible shriek of pain and the sound of falling rubble. Lilly had been hit, and hit hard.

He ran to her side, forgetting Jadis, forgetting the others who were still fighting off the soldiers, forgetting the pain in his hands as he pried the scalding hot planks of wood off her body.

Her right arm was badly burned. Black ash smudged her beautiful face. The cloak he gave her now had burn holes in it.

"Lilly?" He said as he began to stroke her blackened cheek.

Tears from her eyes ran down her face taking the ash along with them. "My arm!" She cried, her head tossing violently in pain.

"You're going to be alright," He murmured quietly, trying to hide the panic in his voice. He could hear Jadis groaning, she was getting back up. "Can you heal it yourself?"

She nodded. "Go, take care of her."

The Prince didn't want to leave his fallen one's side. He wanted to make complete sure she would be alright. But, Jadis had to be dealt with. Lilly wasn't the only one he had to protect, the other five were still fighting and how much longer they would last wasn't known.

The tall, pale princess rose back up, still looking a bit dazed from the surprise punch. Her right cheek was badly bruised, her face flinched as she spoke.

"Go! Protect your whore! It will only make it easier to kill you." As it would be assumed, that comment didn't settle well with the Prince. In moments, the princess was thrown against the wall. Aslan's arm pinning her neck, choking her.

"Traitor!" He called her. "The Emperor will hear of your treachery! You shall be stripped of your title!"

"Always running to daddy's aid, Prince?" She sneered. Aslan noticed the look in her eyes. They no longer gave the chilling green stare, but a fearsome black one. She was possessed. Her voice distorted, it was low and cruel now. "You will fall, your majesty. Take heed to the words."

"Face me in your true form, coward!" The Prince challenged as he pressed her body harder into the wall.

"Why would I do that if I can just do this?" One of Jadis' fingernails dug into his side. A rush of pain came from her touch. He felt his skin tearing apart as her finger ran down his side. His blood was warm and heavy as it began to stain his tunic.

Once Jadis found that his grip on her slacked, she pulled him in closer, hearing his breathy pants. " Farewell, Prince Aslan. Tell Jesu once you see him that I send my condolences." The words stung worse than a wasp.

The gash on his side made him dizzy, causing him to loose his balance and fall backwards onto the street. What happened after his body hit the uncomfortable curve of the stones was vague. Mostly because the only sense that was working the best was his ears. He heard a loud shriek, judging by the distance and the pitch, was from Jadis which was followed by a heavy thud. Dark had left her body. For how long, Aslan wasn't sure. But she was out cold. Recovering from possessions, especially if the parasite is strong enough, is slow... sometimes even deadly.

He tried hard to focus his eyes on the sky. Overcast. The black clouds hovered over the moon and distant stars. Everything started to spin and blur. His side hurt worse than any other injury he had ever received. Blood was rushing out like a stream. The red liquid lapping at the stones.

He began hearing another, closer voice. Though he could not make out the words, the tone was that of fear. He felt something cold touch his head. A hand, it felt like a hand. _Her_ hand.

He struggled to blink the haze from his eyes. He wanted to see her, see all of them before the injury took him.

"'Lil?" he mumbled out, his arm trying to reach out and touch her hair.

"I'm here, I'm here." She assured, taking his hand and holding it tightly with her own.

His vision was fading in and out of the blackness. She added something further, but he couldn't understand what she said. His ears caught the distant echo of voices as they neared him. Screaming, crying, cursing was what they seemed to sound like. Blurs began to surround him their voices quick and frantic.

The Prince's amber eyes began to shut, his breathing was extremely slow. Blood was still coming out from his wound, which his friends so desperately tried to clot.

"Aslan! Look at me! Keep your eyes open!'' Lilly begged frantically, her hands running up and down the sides of his face.

"The magic isn't working!" Stelan cried as he removed his red hands from the wound. ''Dark must have put a spell on it."

"We have to stop the blood now!" Charon said in a high strung voice.

"We'll have to stitch it up." Xavier said as he made appear a needle and stitching fabric.

"Give me the needle, I can do it." Lilly offered.

"He's still warm." Helen stated as she felt his forehead. "He's hanging on."

_Was this it then?_ The Prince thought, his eyes now growing heavy. This was how it was to play out? His fate was to die on a cold street in a lake of his own blood? At first, he knew a fate like this was to happen, but now that he felt it occurring his fearlessness of death began to diminish.

Dark was still at large, this couldn't possibly be the end now. Unless, what if his doubts were right? What if he wasn't really the Second Jesu? No, that couldn't be. Dark wouldn't have done this to him if he was a fraud. Aslan's vision finally surrendered. The muddled, shadowy images mixed together into blackness. He heard nothing. All his tensed muscles relaxed. And then there was nothing.

The Prince now was dangling on the edge of a cliff. Below him was total darkness. Death. Above him, was the ground he so greatly wished to climb over for it protected him from falling into the pit of blackness. His fingers were digging into the slippery dirt. He had two choices. Either surrender himself to the shadows beneath his dangling feet, which his whole body begged him to do; or climb up and over the side of the cliff, which he lacked the physical strength to do. His mind told him to hang on. And so, he did only what both physically and mentally he could do. Simply hang on.


	29. Fate with a Side of Chicken

The blackness, that seemed to only last a moment disappeared. It was replaced by, yet again, the hazy blurs. White. White and gold. Ceiling. White ceiling with a gilded border. His room. Prince Aslan had somehow returned to his bedroom in Mohthelieum.

He was alive. He hung on.

The Prince took in the greatly missed feeling of his bed. The Soft, linen fabrics surrounding and covering him in exceptional warmth. A gentle, soothing breeze came through his window and blew into his face and bare chest. It smelled of the salty sea. Even the distant sound of waves could be heard in the dead silence of his bright, sunny room. He sent a prayer to the Nameless Emperor in thanks for finally returning home.

His gaze went over his whole room for a moment. There were many candles lined up on the furniture, their flames disappeared sometime in the night. The table beside his bed had a small bowl filled with now cold water, and jars of pastes, oils, and liquids. He had a feeling someone else had been lurking around his room.

His ears suddenly caught the sound of a conversation that was occurring outside his closed door. He could tell the two voices were of Lilly and Zanze. He wanted to rush out and greet them, but his sore, lethargic muscles told him otherwise.

"I tried using it last night again, it didn't work."

"What about the state of the wound?"

"I got rid of the old and replaced it with new. The gash is improving. The swelling has gone."

"I pray to the Nameless Emperor he's alright. You've been doing all you could. Both the Emperor and Empress are eternally grateful for you looking after him in this dark hour."

"He will be alright. If anything changes I will make sure you and the Emperor are informed."

"I would be thankful for that. I must go, Kalecgos has asked my presence to help him set the charges for Charn to be ready for the emergency Realm Gathering today."

The door to his room opened. In came the gardener, carrying a silver tray that held a fancy, china teapot, teacups and some assortments that aided the taste for the tea. She didn't look his way as she set the tray delicately on the dresser.

"I like two spoons of sugar in my tea, thank you." He told her as he watched her pour the hot liquid gracefully into the cups.

As he expected, she froze, dropping the teapot onto the tray and slowly turning her head towards the bed. Her face looked as if she was staring at a ghost. But the look only lasted an instant.

"In the name of Jesu!" She gasped as tears of joy began to roll down her cheek. In moments, she was sitting on side of the bed holding an embrace with the Prince. "We-we all thought you were dead! You've-you've been out for days and-." The sound of his hush made her quiet. She relished the longed touch of his warm hand as it wiped away the tears from her face. "I thought I lost you." She added quietly.

"It seems you haven't." He cooed softly.

There was a quick silence between them, it was then when he decided to ask her what had happened that was causing all of this commotion.

"How long have I been out like this?"

"Three days." She answered.

"Why?" the question didn't catch Lilly off guard.

"You don't remember do you? I guess being knocked out for as long as you have drained the memory from your mind. What is the last thing you remember doing before waking up just now?"

His eyes trailed off to the side, thinking. His thoughts were muddled. He tried hard to focus specifically on what he could remember from the stay in Charn. "I remember-." He tried moving himself so his back lounged against the pillows but Lilly put her hand on his chest in protest.

"I just stitched you up last night. If you make any fast movements you'll be bleeding just as bad as you were that night." She told him. The curiosity of what she exactly 'stitched' made him remove the covers. He saw a line of tightly sewn stitches running from a few inches below his arm pit to the top of his hip.

His eyes read confusion. Lilly thought it best to explain. "Dark possessed Jadis. She cut you with something sharp and that's how you got that."

"I see," He mumbled half still wondering how he got it and half trying to remember the incident himself.

"What is the last thing you remember?'' She asked again.

The Prince lowered his gaze again. He kept drawing blanks of anything past the image of a room with a golden gryphon. His blank stare caught a bandage wrapped around Lilly's upper right arm. His gold eyes grew concerned.

"Your arm." He said as his hand touched the cloth, she hissed in pain when he did so.

"Sorry," She murmured, afraid she upset him with her sound of refusal. "It still hurts." He undid the bandage, exposing an ugly, fleshy, red burn. It was healing, but looked far from full recovery. "My healing spell wasn't strong enough to cure the whole burn."

His fingers ran around the regular, healthy skin that bordered her wound. The red burn began to dimly glow white. It lasted a few moments and then faded, revealing normal colored flesh. She was healed. "Thank you." She smiled, her voice warm and appreciative.

"I remember now." He stated as he looked at her with sad eyes.

"Remember what?"

"The last thing I remember is seeing the pile of rubble collapsing on top of you." The maiden felt pity when she saw how upset his eyes looked as he recalled the occurrence. Her hand ran across his chest and up his neck. Her fingers dancing over his flesh made his heart pound. The Prince's eyes were glued on her.

"I was fine. You made sure of it." She said with a sincere, gentle smile.

"I thought I lost you." He muttered with a soft chuckle, noticing himself repeating what she said earlier.

Her head came close to his own. "It seems you haven't." She replied tenderly. They sat there silently, taking in each other's presence, content with the fact the other was okay. Lilly briskly kissed his forehead. Aslan attempted a lip lock, but it was interrupted by a deafening roar came from his stomach.

"Sorry," He apologized with an embarrassed laugh. "Haven't eaten in three days."

"What do you want?" She asked him as she left his side and went towards the door. "I'll get the cook to make you something."

Prince Aslan thought about what he was craving for a minute. Frankly, he didn't care; he was hungry enough to eat a stale loaf of bread if he had to. But, one sort of meat came to mind, a favorite of his.

"Chicken," He told her. "Tell him to make it any way he wants, as long as it's chicken." The gardener nodded as she opened the door. As she flew it open, in came the other three knights, Prince Stelan, Lady Helen, and Bailiff. All having expressions of relief and joy.

The words resonated through the hall. "He lives!''

XXXXXX

"This is an offense against Mohthelieum!" "Charn has betrayed us!" "King Dauphine's children should be executed!" "Charn has sided with Dark!" "Excommunication!" "War!" Loud exclaims like these filled the council room. A group of seven royals left for a party on acts of peace. Only to return three days later looking like they were in a battle. Prince Aslan being the most severely injured. Emperor Kalecgos and Empress Anveena were furious about this secret assassination plot against their eldest son and heir to the throne. Despite the fact they wanted to punish Charn, avenging the outrageous attack on their child, justice had to be served the fairest way possible.

"Silence!" Kalecgos boomed over the disputing representatives. Immediatley, the room was dead silent. Men who were out of their seat quickly sat back down. All eyes were on the Emperor, Empress and a few members of his personal council.

"I understand all of you are just as furious as we are that our prince has been put in this state under such unlawful circumstances. However, that does not mean we must be irrational and jump into this like a pack of wild beasts. My men have sent me letters telling me they have overthrown Charn. The princesses are prisoners in their own castle. King Dauphine was brought back into Charn just the other day."

"He was not in his kingdom?" came the voice of a lord.

"No, apparently from what he told my soldiers is that he left his daughters to oversee Charn while he left to deal with affairs of a riot in the far countryside."

"Probably to find himself another mistress no doubt." Another man said under his breath.

"We are not here to make judgments on _those_ matters, King Argos." The Emperor warned. "We are here to make a final decision on the fate of Charn."

One representative rose up from her seat. A older woman, a queen. "You have said there are witnesses to support the idea this was Princess Jadis' doing. Why must we punish the other princess if she was not involved in the assassination attempt?"

Empress Anveena this time answered. "We did not have the intention of giving Princess Ferona the death penalty. According to what she told our general, Sir Gilsdorf, is that she is willing to sign the peace treaty and be tried for her loyalty to Mohthelieum. She appeared to have no idea of anything our men had told her."

"The Emperor and I have spoken to the other six who were with our son. All of them said Ferona was drugged and was not seen for the rest of the day and was not present at the attack."

The low sound of agreements rustled through the council. The woman who was standing up sat back down. Zanze now spoke. "We, the Emperor's council, have come to the conclusion the entire assassination was not only planned by Jadis-but by something more _sinister_."

"What are you implying?" the voice asked.

"Only one witness had seen how Prince Aslan was wounded. She claimed that Jadis was possessed by the Serpent himself as the princess gave the terrible blow." Zanze paused, allowing the murmurs of worry come and go through the room. "Jadis was his puppet. Dark fed off her weakness and used it to his ability."

"Then perhaps she does not deserve punishment either, if it was the Snake who forced her to do its biding." rose another lord's voice.

"No, unfortunately that is not the case." Kalecgos answered. "She bears the Dark Mark. She has spoken with him, he has promised her things. Princess Jadis is far from an innocent girl that was taken advantage of. She had willingly converted herself and willingly tried to capture the six royals. She is still charged with treachery and attempted murder."

The Emperor turned to his personal council members. "Shall we commence with the vote?"

All of them nodded.

"Today, we are to decide the fate of Charn and its rulers. All votes must be unanimous. Anyone who finds Princess Jadis of Charn guilty for the charges of treachery and attempted murder rise from your seat." Every representative stood up. Jadis was found guilty.

"Anyone who finds King Dauphine guilty of the same charges, please rise from your seat." No one stood up.

"Anyone who finds Princess Ferona guilty of the same charges, please rise from your seat." Again, no one stood up.

''My council has decided the punishment is death. She is an ally of Dark, therefore against our peaceful ways. She has admitted to what she has done and has no regrets of it. She has the same motives as the Serpent, to kill Prince Aslan. All in favor of the sentence, rise from your seat." Some got up rather quickly, others a bit slower. Some took a few minutes to finally make a decision on where they stood on the matter. However, in the end, all seats were empty.

"Charn has also been suggested to the sentence of excommunication for the attempted assassination against the ruler of the neutral, peaceful land of Mohthelieum. All in favor of this sentence, rise from your seat." Excommunication was a long process. It was the opposite of a world that died naturally. The best way to describe it is a fowl separated from the rest of its flock. The bird was no longer a part of the body. It had no purpose. It was on its own. Left to die in the paws of a wolf or coyote. Once the world was sentenced to excommunication, its people, its rulers could never leave. Never attend Realm Gatherings, never see the distant worlds and realms beyond their borders, they no longer had a voice. And when it broke away, the world would slowly die. Sometimes in a few years, sometimes in a thousand.

The Emperor watched as representatives began to rise from their seats. All their decisions were fast. They seemed fairly clear on their opinion. A quarter of the seats were empty. The rest were filled with sitting men and women. "Then it is settled. Charn shall not be excommunicated. King Dauphine and Princess Ferona shall be forced to sign a peace treaty and receive a trial for their trust. Princess Jadis shall be executed. You, as the people as well as myself, my Empress and my council, have chosen. All in final favor of these verdicts, say 'aye'."

The room echoed with an undisputed "Aye!"

Charn's destiny was sealed.

Later after the meeting concluded, the Emperor and Empress were informed by a servant that Prince Aslan had finally woken up and seemed to be doing well and was now resting. Not wanting to disturb his son of a rest he probably needed, Kalecgos took the news and left to his room to write a letter to Sir Gilsdorf, giving the knight his orders.

**A/N: The part about chicken was merely for my entertainment and that of another person and you know who you are! Enjoy yourself with that. Oh, and when Emperor Kalecgos said 'six royals', it was intentional. Lilly is no longer a princess, she's back to being a regular old gardener. I didn't want anyone think I made a typo or that Kalecgos doesn't know how to count (because he does). Thank you for reading and don't forget to review!**


	30. Journey Through the Past

Next years spring came slower than expected after the horrible incident with Jadis occurred. Charn had finally been given excommunication following the princess escaping her execution, killing her father and starting a civil war with her sister for the crown. Rivers ran of blood, not water. Men dying, fire burning, clashing metal, and battle cries were the only sounds nowadays. Charn had become a living hell in itself, and it wasn't something the Emperor nor the realm representatives wanted spreading throughout all the worlds. Jadis and Ferona were trapped in a dying world, inevitably killing themselves in the process. And all of this done under the interference of Dark.

In Mohthelieum, most things went back to their original state once the Prince fully recovered. _Most_ things. The rumors spread around like an airborne plague, all of them more or less untrue. Aslan had finally found a wife, many said. Others, a mistress. The rest were a bit more offensive to his good name. However, no one dared ask him themselves. It was the great thing about gossip, it was confirmed by everyone accept the person the gossip was about.

XXXXXX

The evening was cold. Remnants of last winter were whispering in the unusually chilly, calm ocean breeze. The moon was at its highest, watching over all those who's minds were filled with dreams and those who resisted the urge to sleep. Some of those few were collected together on the beach around a bright, warm bonfire, far from the waves and closer to the outcropping ridge above their heads. The castle's watchful eye was distant from where they were. The four knights and the gardener were attempting to make something out of a cold night.

Lilly sat by the now low, and warm flames of the fire, watching Tomas and Charon beating each other senselessly. Both were cursing worse than a low life merchant, covered in sand as their fight continued. Charon pinned the thinner knight to the ground. His strong hands held Tomas' arms down.

"Okay! Okay! You win!" the defeated knight exclaimed. "Let me up!" Sir Charon didn't move, he raised his head as a deep, deafening hack rippled through his throat. Instantly, Tomas began to squirm like caught prey, swearing and pleading as the clear, dangling line of spit began to slowly climb down towards his face.

"Charon!" The Prince threw himself at the coal-haired knight, launching him backwards. Aslan had him in a headlock in minutes with Charon's hand pushing against his grip trying free his head.

Xavier came up after the Prince, carrying a large tree branch for the fire. "Look at you three," He scoffed as he tossed the stick into the pile of burning wood, sending a wave of orange embers scattering into the cool grains of sand. "You're acting like children."

"You're the one to talk." Charon remarked once Aslan let him go. Xavier only replied with a smirk. The other knights came and sat near the fire as Lilly did. The Prince taking his spot beside her and the others around them. Night would be drawing to a close in a few hours, their energy from earlier was dying down.

The coal haired squire decided to entertain the others by displaying his mastery in the art of controlling fire. ''A bear!'' ''A tree!'' ''Lord Fendrel!'' Guesses were thrown out at every image Charon made in the flames. Slowly and silently, they all began to doze off. Tomas first, then Xavier, and Charon. Lilly was beginning to show signs of her going next, as a gaping yawn broke her lips, making the Prince yawn as he saw her doing so.

"Have you enjoyed yourself tonight?" He asked softly as her head rested in the space between his shoulder and neck.

"Of course I did." She mumbled. "I grew up with you four, remember? It surprises me how I didn't turn into a boy and starting behaving like you."

"Now, we aren't that terrible."

"Oh I beg to differ. You four, at eleven-years-old? Do you have the slightest recollection of all the messes we got ourselves into when we were that age? I know I didn't start them.''

"But you went along with us, did you not? So, you are somewhat guilty of getting yourself into the trouble as well. Give your explanation to that, Lillian Anna Swanwhite."

"Alright, if you must know. It is one of my biggest secrets, Aslan, I don't want you spreading anything. I had an attraction for you and that's why I went along with everything you did." She admitted with shifting eyes. Prince Aslan let out a chuckle so tender, Lilly thought she would melt into the sand.

There was a quick pause as they looked into the quiet, dancing flames. "You're still not mad about me throwing you into the ocean earlier, are you?" He asked arbitrarily.

Before the sun set, everyone was cooling off in the salty waves. Except the gardener, so the Prince decided to force her in, which lead to her being drenched and him being bombarded with splashes of sea water.

The maiden's forest colored eyes flashed up to him. He was smiling like a faun who knew he did something wrong and wasn't sorry for it. A lighthearted smile.

She responded by gently pushing her shoulder into his. "Furious beyond words." was her teasing murmur. His amber eyes glistened with pleasure against the dull orange light. Their lips met for a moment. "I love you." She whispered, her hand running along his chest.

"As I, dear one." He replied kindly, which was followed by another kiss. Her head returned back to resting on his arm. Her eyes were shut, she was ready to fall over and sleep.

He watched her for a awhile. It had been a year they were like this. In love. There was not one day that that feeling changed. The rumors had started dying out after a few months. Most everyone had gotten used to it or accepted the fact. He liked the heat of her body beside his own. He enjoyed everything about her and now he realized that he wanted all that beside him every day. He felt he couldn't live without her. It took him years to confess it but now that all of this was actually happening, it was the truth. He was in love, and he wanted this feeling to remain with him forever.

_Courtland!_ The name echoed through the older gardener's dream. He found himself in a wood, running for his life. Trunks and boughs of trees bent and gnarled like hands, grabbing at him. There was no sun, no moon. the forest omitted its own light, which was a murky, dark green fog that hovered low over the ground.

_Coooouuuuurrrrtttllllannndd! _He ran faster into the trees. He had no idea where he was going, no idea which way was out. All he wanted to do was escape the voice. The deep, menacing voice that he knew all too well.

Finally, he ran into the person he was running from. There he stood, cloaked in black, all features distorted in the shadows except for his glowing, red eyes.

''You think you could outrun me even here? This is not your dream, Courtland. This is was made by me. You are looking at me, speaking to me.'' Dark hissed.

"What are you here for?" The gardener asked, suspicious of the Lord of Darkness motives.

"My, my, so you have forgotten all about the past, Courtland? What strength and power you had? Remember? You left it for this. For that she-devil."

"Lilibeth was no devil! _You_ are!" Courtland spat.

"Silence yourself, my opinions shall not change." Dark responded sounding annoyed by the gardener's retort. "If you are intelligent enough to put the pieces together, I think you should know why I am here."

Courtland stepped back a few paces, a look of horror on his face. "No..." He mumbled, then raised his voice in confidence. "No! No I will not go! You cannot take me, I am on holy ground. Ground you cannot touch. I know about the Prince's necklace."

"Who said I would be the one dragging you back?" the Lord of Darkness said with an evil chuckle humming through his words. "You are at a crossroad, Courtland. You can only choose one way. Either return to me, or I will force you to. However, I am a man of bargaining. Another street has just been made for you to go down. One you will find the easiest way out of this situation."

"And that be?"

"Leave Mohthelieum, take your daughter with you as well. If you leave here I will give you my solemn promise not one of my men shall lay a hand on you or your child."

"Why does it matter if I leave here?"

"My motives are mine. I do not like sharing them, Courtland Swanwhite. I think you would understand that by now. What do you choose, lowly gardener? I can only be patient for so long."

Courtland stepped up to the dark figure with a face of anger and objection. "And if I choose none of them?"

"I had a horrible feeling you say that." Dark hissed in pleasure. Out from the nearby trees came two shadowed figures, similar to dark carrying Lilly in their hands. Her face tear stained and hair messy with exhaustion.

"Papa!" She cried. "Help me! Please, help me!" Her pleas were silenced when one the figures threw a hard punch into her stomach.

"Lilly!" Her father screamed as he watched her body fall onto the forest floor. Her chest barely rising with every short breath she took.

"You choose none I will take away your life from you. _Her_. You will find the girl next morning in her bed, dead, in a pool of her own blood. You do not think I am not serious? I will show you how grave I can be." The Lord of Darkness threatened as he grabbed the maiden by the hair, making Lilly screech in pain.

The gardener fell to his knees, grabbing the cloak of Dark. "No! I beg you! I will do anything! Please, spare my only child!"

Courtland could only imagine behind the shadow of the cloak Dark wore a sinister grin. The Magi let go of Lilly's hair and she fell back to the ground. "Leave Mohthelieum, Courtland. You have two days, starting tomorrow morning." The image of the evil forest began to disintegrate into specks of dust. Lilly, the two Dark Magicians, even Dark himself disappeared. Everything faded into blackness and he woke up to dawn's peaking rays as they came through the window.

Slowly, he sat up in his bed. He could feel the sweat running down the back of his neck. The threats of Dark were echoing in his mind. _Leave Mohthelieum or Lilly dies._ He couldn't dare picture his beautiful daughter maimed to death at the hands of Dark. She was all he had. He couldn't bare go on with his life alone, blaming himself for her death as well.

"Lilly? Daughter?" He called out from his room. When she didn't come he left to check her bedroom, only to find the bed made and empty. He had forgotten she had been out the whole night with friends.

He moved onwards to the kitchen, preparing a hot cup of tea and toast for his breakfast. Whenever he had the chance, his eyes would veer to the large window, watching for his daughter to come up the road. His worrying ceased when he heard the clopping of hooves.

He put down the cup of tea and ran to the pane. There she was, with the Prince riding upon his black mare.

Aslan dismounted first, then helped the maiden down. They walked up closer to the home, talking. What they were saying, Courtland couldn't tell but whatever it was made both of them smile.

They stopped a few feet from the door and embraced. The old gardener watched sadly. Could he do this to her? Make her leave all she's known? Could he take her away from _that_? Her life was here, it always was.

But, she was still young. She had the time to adjust and change. If she knew her life depended on it she would leave here. She would listen to her father.

"Papa!" Lilly called as she noticed the door open and his image appear in the entry. The Prince let her go, nodded and bid Courtland a good morning.

"Good morn to you as well, your majesty." The gardener stated expressionlessly. "Come along Lilly, I have a cup ready for you. Unless, your grace wished to stay and eat something?"

"I am grateful for the offer, but I must be going." Aslan replied taking Morgan's reins. "I have to assist Sir Gilsdorf with training squires."

"Training Stelan, you mean." Lilly added.

The two of them gave their farewells. The gardener's daughter didn't step foot into the home until the black body of Morgan vanished from her sight.

Lilly followed her father into the kitchen. "Papa, is something wrong?" She asked kindly, becoming aware of his lumbering as if he was a weak, old man.

"Lillian," He sighed, placing his large, calloused hand on the doorway. His back was to her, he didn't want to she her reaction to the news. "We must leave Mohthelieum."

The maiden could have sworn her heart stopped beating for a few moments after those words rolled off her father's tongue. Her eyes were bigger than an owl's, her mouth gaped in dismay. "What?" She mumbled, the sadness overwhelming her voice.

"This place used to be a safe haven but-I feel that's changed now. I do not find our lives are in the best care here."

"I don't understand." The maiden said quickly as she started a fast walk to her bedroom. Courtland quickly followed behind.

"You're not safe here. Not anymore."

"And why is that?" She snapped, suddenly stopping her walk and turning to her father.

None of this was going to make sense to her unless if he told her the truth. Everything he had been hiding from her since the moment she was born was going to have to be explained.

With a long, heavy sigh the old gardener began to roll up the sleeve on his left arm. Lilly watched curiously. After he rolled the cloth up to his elbow, he turned his inner arm towards her. In the center of his arm was the faded, but distinct Mark of the Dark Magic.

Her eyes widened again, her hands grabbed her chest. "No," She denied as tears began to well in her eyes. "No, father, you can't be!"

"It was a very long time ago, dear, I-." He was interrupted by her hands pushing his chest away.

"Why have you never told me this!" She screamed, her voice was sharp and upset. "You've been lying to me since the day I was born! How could you!"

"It was a long time ago. Before you were born. I swear on my life, I have never used the magic since. That is why the mark is so faded, Lilly. I have been trying to convert for years."

The woman ran her hands through her hair in anxiety. The tears weren't coming out but her throat was already closing up and making her cry. This was too much, nothing made sense.

"I'm so confused." She mumbled miserably as she slumped down onto the floor, her head resting against the wall. Her father's hand touched her shoulder, she didn't look at him.

"Come sit with me in the kitchen. I'll explain everything I should have explained to you a long time ago." He said calmly as his hand rubbed her shoulder soothingly. Though she was reluctant she followed him back into the kitchen, refusing the tea and listening carefully as he retold his past to her. The real one.

Courtland wasn't a good storyteller. Lilly would remember him telling her fairytales to her when she was young and how she had to try so hard to imagine everything better than how her father told it. This wasn't an exception. He told her his past as fast and painless as he could.

When the old gardener was around his daughter's age, he converted himself to the Dark Magic for the power and strength which the Serpent guaranteed him. All the Magi said was true. His magic was much stronger, more excelled. He was a favorite of Dark, and that meant he was given it all. The missions, the armies, the ranks he had climbed to the top of the ladder and wasn't planning to climb back down. Until one day Dark sent him to Mohthelieum to investigate the Emperor's wife. There was an ongoing rumor she was expecting. That in her womb was the Second Jesu, the one who would destroy the Lord of Darkness. It was Courtland's orders to cast a spell upon the Empress that would make sure the child died during birth. However, he never made it to the castle. He never saw the bulging belly of Anveena. Along the way he was sidetracked by a maiden named Lilibeth, who was of the Ancient Magic. So began the dangerous love affair.

Months went by and nothing was heard of from his master. Courtland had changed. He no longer wanted the power. He wanted Lilibeth, who was now his wife and soon to be mother of his child. Eventually, Anveena gave birth to a healthy son and once that news spread Dark was furious. Spies were sent and they returned to the Magi with news of Courtland's betrayal. Once his cover was blown, Courtland took his wife and they lived in hiding for a year. During that time she had given birth to a baby girl named Anna, who was born with the Ancient Mark of her mother. Only a short week after Anna's birth Dark Magician's discovered their hiding spot and attempted to kill the whole family. Courtland fought to hold them off but failed. Their makeshift home was burned to the ground and Lilibeth lay dead with the baby cradled in her limp arms, it's wailing loud and frightened. He took the child from his dead wife's arms, this was all he had left. A week-old baby who was welcomed into the world with death and sadness. Courtland was desperate now and did the most absurd thing he could have possibly done. The man went to the Emperor and begged him for protection of both himself and his daughter, who was renamed Lillian in memory of her deceased mother. Kalecgos felt pity for the father and allowed him to live within castle grounds, working for him as a gardener. Extra nursemaids were to take care of the baby girl until she was weaned. Once that day came, she returned to her father and grew up in the life of a servant, living under the guard of the Emperor. Their past buried and never to be dug up again.

Once he finished Lilly stared at him, her emotion was unclear.

"I never wanted to tell something so tragic to a child as innocent as you were. You never asked questions, Lilly. You never asked why you lacked a mother, why we were servants, why anything. I'm sorry, for I know now that it would have been best to tell you. I just never wanted to recall the memories again, especially to you, my dear. You've turned into the spitting image of your mother, Lilly. Have I ever told you that?"

The maiden walked over to her father and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I understand now, papa. I'm sorry I had to make you bring it up again."

"You deserved to hear it," He mumbled sadly, the thought clearly still on his mind. Then he added solemnly: ''Dark has come to me in a dream. He says if we leave the isle he will spare us. If we don't he will kill you."

"He cannot hurt us here," She remarked encouragingly. "Aslan's necklace-."

"He won't come himself. He will have his men do the biding for him."

"Still, Kalecgos has promised you protection."

"Lilly I cannot trust that any longer."

"Why not?" She started to become defensive again. "Emperor Kalecgos' word is good."

"Have you already forgotten about what happened in Charn?" Courtland replied, sounding irritated.

"That was once, I took care of myself." Lilly responded.

"That does not matter! It only means it can happen again."

"I can take care of myself now, papa. I'm sorry but my life is _here_. You can leave, but I will not."

"Don't you see? It won't work that way! Lillian, I don't want you dead because of my mistakes! I don't want you murdered like your mother was."

"No." Lilly said bluntly. "I won't go."

"You _will_ go." Courtland's voice sounded different, it was distorted and threatening. The maiden noticed his eyes were black, just as Jadis' were the night of the incident.

It couldn't be. Dark could not step on Mohthelieum's grounds.

"Papa?" She stammered as she backed up against the wall. Courtland extended his arm. Against her will, she fell back towards him. Her neck came into his hand. His grip began to tighten, her windpipe was starting to hurt as she tried to breathe.

"Honor your father and mother, is that not one of your commandments? Swear to me you'll do as he says otherwise I will kill you right now."

"No!" She gagged out, again the grip grew tighter. The feeling of her head started to numb, she was getting dizzy.

"Where is your lover now, girl? Where is the Emperor? Where is your _protection_?"

_He's right._ She thought.

No one was here to go to her aid. The Emperor and Prince are able to sense the presence of a Dark Magician from miles away. But neither was here to stop the Serpent. He was stepping on ground that he couldn't step on. If Aslan needed protection from Dark, how could he protect her from Dark? The Magi must have read her thoughts for his grip loosened and let her drop to the floor.

She gasped for air like a fish out of water. Courtland still loomed over her. "You are your only protection, _Anna_. Leave Mohthelieum. Spare yourself. Spare your father."

Her green eyes lowered to the floor of the kitchen. What answer could she give? In her thoughts, she was now thrown at the crossroads of _Do I become his prey?_ and _Do I agree? _Yet, she could help but wonder about the reality of this matter as she rubbed her aching neck.

_ Do I have any choice?_


	31. Here Comes Goodbye

''You're actually going to do it!" Stelan gasped.

"It's time to. Why, you think I'm not ready?" Aslan asked.

"No, brother. I just can't believe you're actually going to do it!" The younger prince replied. "Do you have the ring on you? I want to see what it looks like."

The Prince opened a buttoned pocket in his doublet and dug his hand in. Carefully, he pulled out his fist and opened his hand in front of his brother's eyes. The ring was silver, lining its face were clean cut crystals. The top center of the ring had a small, detailed figurine of a blossoming lily and snuggled perfectly inside the bud was a genuine diamond that glittered brighter that the jewel-incrusted chandeliers in the castle.

"I think you might just kill her with this!" Stelan exclaimed as he took the ring from his brother's hand and examined it closer. "In a good way though."

"Thanks, Stel."

The younger prince gave Aslan the ring back. "When are you going to ask her? Does mother and father know you're doing this?"

"Tonight. And yes, I told them this morning. Keep it quiet, Stelan alright? I don't exactly want everyone to fly at us with _congratulations_."

"Ah, there you are!" came the bark of Bailiff as the hound padded up to the two princes. The dog turned to Prince Aslan. "Lilly asked me to tell you that she wants to speak with you. She's in the Gardens. "

"Thank you Bailiff," the Prince smiled as his fingers scrunched up the wrinkles on Bailiff's forehead and then added to the younger prince. "Remember Stelan, not a word." Once Aslan left Stelan and the hound's presence, Bailiff looked to the younger prince.

"Not a word of what?" The dog asked.

"He's proposing to Lilly." The words came out faster than Stelan could stop himself from continuing on. "Oh no. Don't listen to a thing I said! Forget it now! I never said anything!"

A howl of delight came from Bailiff's sagging lips. "Aslan's betrothed! Aslan's betrothed!"

"Shut up!" Stelan demanded as he covered the dog's mouth, which was still chanting the words even though they came out in garbled muffles.

The Prince made his way to the Gardens. This was the perfect time to tell her to meet him tonight. Right on the Eastern Shore was his plans, the castle's silhouette behind them and the soothing sound of crashing waves in the background. She'd love it.

His thoughts trailed off when he spotted her by the wall of archways that lead into the interior entrance to the Gardens. She was leaning against one of the columns. Her arm rubbing the other arm, appearing distracted.

"'Lil?" He called out as he came through the arch beside the pillar. Almost instantaneously she was on top of him. Her arms rung around his neck in a tight embrace, her face buried in his shirt. ''Lilly?" He said slowly, as he uneasily held her shoulders. "What is the matter?"

She rose her head up, Aslan could see the look in her eyes. Something was bothering her.

"I need to speak with you. Alone." She mumbled.

''We're alone here." He replied as his eyes glanced over the area again for eavesdroppers. "What is bothering you?"

"Nothing." She stammered as her face turned away from his own.

"I know you better than that, Lilly. Tell me what's wrong."

"I said there was nothing wrong!" She retorted, recognizing too late that she had snapped at him for no reason, leaving the Prince somewhat dumbstruck judging by the look on his face. "I-I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that. I just-." He began to stroke her arm, trying to get her to calm down.

"If you don't wish to talk about it I won't force it out of you, 'Lil."

"It's not that," She sighed. "I'm just -."

"Not ready to talk about it?" He said finishing her sentence. A small smile bent her lips as she nodded her head.

"Can I meet you tonight somewhere to talk about it?"

"How does the Eastern Shore appeal to you?"

"It's perfect."

His hand ran across her cheek. "You are _sure_ you are alright?"

Lilly wasn't good at lying, she was already doing a terrible job hiding the secret he had to tell him. However, she tried hard to make this one work. She relaxed her face, tried to squint her eyes to make them look like their usual bright selves. Hiding the misery that had been lurking over her all day. ''Yes, I am. I'm just tired from last night." She knew her act didn't work, his gold eyes were upset that she couldn't reside in him.

The gardener ended the conversation with the excuse she had to get back to her work. Aslan did not protest and let her leave in peace. She trudged back into the Gardens, walking through them one last time. Burning the images of the beautiful plants that she was proud to have taken care of into her mind. She wanted to make sure she never forgot it.

Tears started rolling down her cheek. Every part of these Gardens had a memory. She felt as if she was walking in a burial ground, where images of blurry, white phantoms sat by their graves imitating a strong memory they had when they were alive. If she could, she would to dig up the whole garden and take it with her wherever she was going, in fact she wanted to take the whole island with her but she wasn't powerful enough to do such a thing and decided it best to just recollect and reminisce as she walked through. All familiar faces were avoided. Even if they did spot her she did not look their way. She continued on like a restless spirit trying to find out where it belonged in the world.

Aslan's hand was in his pocket as his fingers felt every detail in the ring. He was nervous. What would her answer be? Yes? No? Would she even have an answer to give him? He knew this was what he wanted, but was it what _she _wanted? Her mood this morning wasn't normal for her. The idea maybe her feelings were changing about him began to haunt his thoughts.

The night was warmer than the previous. The ocean was choppy this evening, probably because the moon's light that guided them to the shore was dimmed by a small, looming cloud. Finally, he caught sight of her on the opposite side of the beach. Whatever was bothering her before seemed to have left her mind, and he was glad of it. Perhaps now the stakes were in his favor.

He held her close in a welcoming embrace. "How are you?"

"Better," She stated bluntly, her lie sustained until her face collapsed into the same look it had on earlier. However this time she turned to look at the waves so the Prince wouldn't notice. As her head was turned, Aslan quickly pulled the ring out of his pocket and held his hand behind his back.

"Lilly," He said tenderly as his free hand took her left hand. Those beautiful eyes focused on him. Suddenly, his original plans of what he was going to say suddenly were erased from his memory. He had to make up something fast.

"I love you." was what finally came out of his mouth.

The Prince could have sworn he saw a frown on her lips in response to what he said. "Aslan," She mumbled. "I need to tell you something. I need to tell you right now."

He clenched the ring tighter in his hand. His fears began to stir. "What is it, love?" He asked.

Her eyes met the sand for a few minutes. She was tempted to run away from him and hide somewhere in the forest and live there for the rest of her life. She was willing to do anything that would avoid telling him this, but there wasn't anything that could avoid the heart-wrenching news. Slowly, her eyes made their way back to his face. Despite how much she didn't want to break his heart, she had to. There wasn't another way.

"I'm leaving Mohthelieum." was her quiet, defeated whisper.

Aslan almost dropped the ring into the sand. His heart ruptured in his chest. He could feel his body shutting down. He could feel himself dying. His throat felt parched like a desert as he tried to answer her:

"What?"

"My father and I are leaving the island in the morning." She repeated; though saying it again made her heart tear in half.

"Why?" He pressed urgently.

"Because my father feels we are no longer safe on the island. Dark has threatened him. Threatened me. And Courtland wants to leave for someplace where Dark can't find us. I can't have him on his own, Aslan."

"We can protect you here. My love, you know I would never let anyone lay a hand on you." He remarked as his grip became tighter on her hand. He was starting to sound desperate.

Lilly summed up the courage to look into his eyes. They were glazed with tears. She held the gaze for only a moment and turned away once she felt the streams spilling out from her eyes. The Prince pulled her in closer to him. "I don't want to leave, Aslan." She wept as she clung tightly to his shirt. "Everyone I love is here. _You're_ here. Don't you understand? There's nothing I can do about it!'' And then added as if there was not a hope in the world; "I have to go."

The Prince still held the ring in his other hand. It wasn't too late. If he proposed to her now, she would have to stay. This problem would be resolved if he only got down on his knee. Yet, something held him back. Whether it was by his own thoughts, or by an outside influence, he wasn't sure. Aslan desired to marry her. Father their beautiful children, be an Emperor with her at his side as his Empress.

_This is what was meant to happen. _His thoughts said, sounding sorry for telling him the truth. _You couldn't do this even if you wanted to, Prince. You have a destiny that she cannot follow. A destiny no one can follow. If you love her... then you'll let her go._

"Then you must go." He finally choked out after concluding with his thoughts. Each word stabbed his already dying heart like the sharpest sword. He was holding back the tears as best he could, though a few were able to overcome his resistance.

Lilly's eyes looked at him in disbelief. She must have suspected he had some sort of idea that would allow her to stay. Some persuasive argument that would work on her father, but none of that came. He _agreed_ with her.

"You're right," Aslan continued on sadly. "You cannot leave your father, he needs you. And-his intentions are best. If he wants you safe from Dark, being with me isn't the best way to achieve it."

"Don't say that," She protested, upset he was insulting himself. "You're the greatest protector anyone could ask for."

"And yet you were still caught up in battles that you should not have been in." He remarked solemnly, the comment silencing Lilly. He let go of her left hand and touched her cheek. "I'm saying this because I care for you, as a lover and as a friend. I want you safe and if that means you have to leave, then that, perhaps, is how it must be."

"But you don't want it to be." She murmured, holding his face.

"No. I don't." He stated honestly. "But even I cannot change what fate has laid out for us." There was a silence between them, which was when Aslan reached behind his neck and pulled the necklace over his head. His arm extended to her, the piece of jewelry lying in his hand. "To ensure you will be protected...wherever you are going."

"Aslan, no." She refused as she closed his fist and pushed it back towards him. "Your father gave it to you."

"And _I_ give it to_ you_," He replied as his hand broke away from her protest and extended back out towards her. "Please, take it. As a token of my deepest thanks, take it and promise you won't forget about me."

She gave up her protest and took the gold chain from his hand and placed it around her neck. The small but powerful pendant rested just above her breasts, the gold was still warm after sitting on the Prince's neck for so long. "I could never forget you." the maiden murmured with pure sincerity. "I only wish I had something to give you in remembrance of me."

"Fifteen years of memories is plenty gift for me." He mumbled with a small smile, feeling the salty tears starting to roll down his cheeks. She flung onto him in another embrace. He clutched her back. His nose taking in the last few breaths of her sweet scent. His hand ran through her curly hair for the last time. Their weeping muffled against the loud roars of the waves as they recalled the memories.

_This wasn't fair_. Both of them thought. If all of this was so much simpler; that they could just say goodbye and all would be over with. They weren't ready for something like this. All those years together, if they only knew this would happen back then! Maybe things would be different now. Maybe those warm, sunny days would have been cherished greater. All the instances where they found themselves bored with nothing to do wouldn't have been wasted.

"I swear to you Aslan," She said gravely. "If I ever can, I will come back here. I couldn't bare the idea of never seeing you again."

"Then I will be waiting." He murmured as he stared deep into her eyes.

Their heads bent in until their lips met. Prince Aslan cherished her soft, warm, loving kiss for the last time, making sure this one would remain clear in his memory for as long as he lived.

He was the first to pull away this time, allowing only their foreheads to touch for a moment. A moment turned into a minute, and a minute into an hour, and then another hour until the dim tint of orange began to appear where the sky and the ocean met.

"Morning's coming." Lilly announced with a heavy sigh.

The Prince and the maiden looked at each other for a few minutes. Her fingers traced over the Deep Mark that was concealed under his clothes.

"I will miss you." She muttered. His eyes blinked in agreement.

"I love you." She added as she gave him one final embrace.

"I love you too, Lillian Anna Swanwhite." He hummed in her ear as his hands rung around her waist. "Don't forget that."

"I never will."

They gave each other one final kiss goodbye and broke away awkwardly.

"Goodbye," the gardener said with a slight bow of the head.

"Farewell, dear one." He added after her.

Lilly turned away from him, ready to head up the shore and to the main road back to her home. Her feet felt as if they were lead sinking in the sand. She wanted to give up. Scream ''I am staying here!'' loud enough so Dark could hear her where ever he was lurking. Fall back into the Prince's arm and let everything stay the way it was, but then her foot took the first step away from Aslan. Then the other followed behind, until she was walking. She never looked back; the fear that she would not be able to continue the journey back to her home for the last time forced her to look ahead. She felt his gold gaze watching her until she disappeared into the shadows over the ridge. What was done was done. It was over, everything that she knew was pushed to the side as a new part of her life shined down her path. All was going to change, whether our gardener liked it or not.

Prince Aslan took the ring out again. The silver circle laid on its side in his large hand. The diamond's beautiful shine appeared duller than before. It looked fake. It wasn't real. He was cheated. He thought it was genuine, but his sight was clear now. Nothing was as real as it once was. Everything felt the same. Everything was indistinct. Everything was made up of a regular, old world that he couldn't believe was like this all his life and never recognized it before.

His hand clenched into a fist until his skin started turning red. He could feel the frame of the ring in his flesh, feel the gap in the middle of the circle that should have been filled by a maiden's beautiful finger. In a frustrated cry, he threw his arm back and launched the ring into the ocean. It glistened as the light from the rising sun caught the metal and then it fell into the clear, blue depths of the water. It flew too far to hear or see the splash, but Aslan made sure the ring was never to be found again. Never to wash up on the beach and try to find the owner it never knew. Never to dream maybe there would be a second chance of it finding itself on the gardener's hand.

**A/N: And so, this concludes Part 3. The fourth, and final part starts next chapter. Lilly is gone, disappeared, never to be heard from again for the rest of the story. Possibly a few references back to her...but she will not return in person. Oh do I love the title of the chapter. It is very fitting... only one other person would understand the title choice and unfortunately she does not read this story. :'( **

**And a note: as we all know school is right around the corner or already here for some of us. That means chapter updates will probably be less and less frequent now. Especially since I have Journalism ( a class I did not want to take but was forced to) first semester, which might kill a lot inspiration to write. But, my goal is to finish this story by at least January (I'm aiming high for the sake of my laziness) so I will try and keep updating when I can. Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review!**


	32. Facing What Was Coming

**A/N: This begins Part 4, the final part in this story. A week has passed since Lilly's departure and the Prince will find himself faced with extreme changes that will alter his life forever.**

_It was time._ the shadowed Magi thought in pleasure as his body slithered into an archway from the warm, bumpy earth to a cold, hard ground.

Everything had gone as it was planned. The girl was done away with, the Prince was brokenhearted, and the necklace that had been a torment for years had finally left Mohthelieum. The island was free land now. Anyone could walk upon its holy, peaceful ground. _Anyone._

The Prince found himself standing in a clearing inside a huge forest. The sun was beating down hard against the branches and lit the forest floor in a strong, bright light. There were no sounds, no wind, not a living thing in sight. He took in a breath of air, enjoying the sweet, clean smell of the trees and flowers around him. One tree in particular caught his golden gaze. It stood just a few feet away from him and was far different from anything he had ever known a tree could look like. Its bark was smooth, black and covered in ivy. It had no branches, no leaves. Its trunk was hollow and hard. And at the top of its unusual stem was a lantern that was lit by a tiny flame that never stopped burning.

_Lamppost. _Aslan knew what this odd tree was. Mohthelieum used them to light the town's roads during the night. Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve on Earth used them as well for the same purpose, except they used gas instead of oil. This must have been one of those lamps, for a strange humming noise circled the place were it stood.

The sound of heavy footfalls approached from downwind. Someone was here with him, and judging by its approach it possibly wasn't friendly. The Prince turned around seeing a huge figure stand in the shadows of two trees, keeping its identity unknown.

"Come to me." Aslan demanded, realizing the shadowed being repeated what he said at exactly the same time. When it didn't move, the Prince asked again; only to find his request echoed.

He tried a different approach. "I will not harm you." he stated as he took a step forward. The figure did the same, but still repeated what the Prince said.

Aslan kept walking forward, seeing the echoing voice doing the same. He stopped once the being was entirely revealed by the sunlight.

It had four enormous, terrible paws that could easily be the death of him with one easy swipe. It's body was as gold as the bright sun that beamed down upon it. Its thick neck was concealed under a long, beautiful mane and its face was large and majestic with eyes that were gold like the Prince's own. Only these eyes were far bigger and far more entrancing. The beast was huge, magnificent and dangerous. There was no way of telling if it would just rush for his throat and eat the Prince for its next meal, any sane person would have run off as fast he could and never looked back to see if the beast was chasing after him. Yet, Aslan found himself unafraid standing in front of this creature, he didn't feel the animal wished to cause him harm.

"What is your name?" again, the lion only echoed back.

"Aslan."

"Aslan."

This was starting to become annoying. It was like the Prince was looking in a mirror except he didn't see himself, he saw this beast. "Speak something other than what I say, lion."

This time the cat was silent, which was a relief for Aslan.

"You are of my name, child." The cat stated. The Prince realized his lips were moving against his will. _He_ was now repeating what the lion was saying, copying its expressions as it talked. The beast continued. "Therefore, I am you. We are equal. I come with warning."

"Warning?" Aslan restated as the lion echoed him back.

The cat went on, the Prince repeating as it spoke. "Fangs will create fangs. Doubt will strangle faith like a snake killing its prey. Innocent blood will be spilt, just as it always has. Everything will only be made right when He shall come in sight."

Both the lion and Prince were silent now, staring into each other's golden eyes. "You were the lion." Aslan said in awe. " You were the lion who my father saw the day of my birth, aren't you?"

"As I said. You bare my name, therefore I am you. We are equal." This was the only time the lion did not echo back what Aslan said. After saying this, it began to step backwards, never turning it's massive body around, never looking back to see where it was going. If it was about to run into a tree, the tree would lift its roots and move to the side away from the cat's path. The Prince watched until the trees returned back to they were originally standing, once again putting the lion out of his view.

A flash of light blinded the Prince, and found himself sitting upright back in his bed awake from the dream.

He was panting quietly as he tried to make sense out of the lion's warning, more so make sense out of the whole dream in general. _You bear my name, therefore I am you. We are equal._ The Prince knew his name meant the word 'lion'. Did the creature believe since his name meant lion and that it was a lion, that it considered themselves equal? As one being?

"I need to walk." He mumbled to himself as he crawled out of bed, reaching for a flimsy under shirt to cover his exposed chest as he made his way to the door.

What time it exactly was wasn't easy to tell, the Prince guessed midnight was approaching. All the halls were empty and quite, nothing but the sound of his bare feet hitting against the cold, marble floor could be heard. He was alone, or so he thought.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught something black and long slither across the floor into the shadows of the opposite wall. He didn't force himself to believe it was just his imagination, he had a terrible feeling he knew what it was.

The Prince could sense it now. A thick, disgusting feeling that lingered around him, in the air. Whatever he saw, he knew was not welcome here.

He turned carefully, barely making a sound. His gaze focused on the darkness cast off by the wall. His hands rose up as a blinding glow shot out from his palms, making the shadows retreat and give up protection to whomever it was hiding. A huge, scaly serpent with glowing red eyes was found curled up in the corner of two walls, it's divot tongue slapping against its lips.

"Even now, when you have the courage to come here. You still cower in shadows." Aslan said, his tone slightly mocking.

Dark launched himself, fangs bared and dripping with venom. In a swift motion, the Prince threw his arm out and gripped tight to the thin, slippery body of the serpent.

"You cannot contain me, Prince!" The snake hissed, its form suddenly disappearing out of Aslan's hands and turning into a growing cloud of black fog. The blackness surrounded the Prince. His eyes scanned furiously as they tried to find Dark amidst the thick clouds . "I am the darkness. I am the shadows. I am all you will ever fear."

"I do not fear." Aslan cried, eyes still watching. The fog rose quickly, rushing towards him and coiling itself around The Prince's body. The Prince threw himself out of the fog as far as he could, practically sliding to the near end of the hallway. He watched as the cloud seemed to turn itself to face him, a huge pair of glowing red eyes came into view.

"You do not fear?" It stated in fake surprise. Again, Dark rushed at him only to be stopped by the pure, bright light Aslan omitted from his hands like before. The snake was only blinded for a moment, but gathered itself to follow through with its attack.

The Prince's feet came out from under him, his body hitting the hard floor with a loud _thud_! However much Aslan attempted to rise up he found himself stuck to the floor, unable to move his body.

"You _will_ fear." Dark hissed quietly, his coils beginning to ring around the man's legs. "Everyone, even the Nameless Emperor fears me. Not even your great ancestor of old truly defeated me! You think because you are given a title 'Slayer of Serpent' means you will overcome me? Then you are stupider than I thought you were, Prince. I honestly thought you would be smart enough to protect what mattered to you. Protect what protected _you_. Apparently, I have misjudged the great Prince Aslan."

From the shadows, a sharp cry split the air. Whatever the voice said, it spoke in the old language of the Deep Magic. An incantation. Prince Aslan could tell by the words used.

Dark's suffocating hold suddenly let up, his black coils had disappeared. The Magi had disappeared. The voice revealed itself from the shadows.

"Aslan!" It was Anveena. He cursed inwardly at himself for not recognizing the voice of his own mother. She helped him up off the cold marble, his back facing the wall. All over the Prince's body, he could still feel the pressure of the serpent's grip as it pressed against his bones, it made his head hurt. He felt sick. "Are you alright?" She added.

He nodded, inhaling and exhaling loudly as now his lungs could expand far enough to allow him a full gulp of air. "Thank you." He panted breathlessly.

The Empress smiled at first, but then her smile turned into a terrified gape. Her eyes wide and gold like a frightened cat. "Mother?" He asked with concern.

Dark has manifested himself from Aslan's own shadow against the wall, leaving the Prince blind from the attack. The snake's head peaked out from the darkness, his red eyes glowing like a blood thirsty animal's. Dark opened his mouth, the pair of dripping, white fangs reappeared, and then came the charge.

The sound of the fangs digging into the Prince's neck was quick and muffled. Aslan's eyes grew large as he gagged in pain. Anveena stood there dumbstruck, feeling her heart stop as she watched Dark withdraw from his bite and the Prince fall to the ground.

"No!" The Empress' voice finally permitted her to scream. She fell on her knees beside her fallen child. His gold eyes desperately tried to stay open. He was bobbing in and out on consciousness.

"Stay with me! You are alright!" Anveena begged to her son as she held him in her arms as if he was a newborn again. "Look at me! _Look at me_!"

"Prints of lion on gold sand; golden name Royal Child shall have!  
Grief of Evil, Slayer of Serpent." Dark hissed quietly as he watched the Prince slowly fade away in his conceiver's arms. Anveena turned to the black shadow that still lingered on the wall, realizing the serpent was singing her lullaby.

The Magi only replied with a smirk as the black shadow he contained himself in began to fade away. His red eyes squinted in pure delight, and remained visible until the snake totally disappeared, leaving the room as quiet and still as if nothing had happened.

The Empress looked back down to Aslan. His eyes were shut, his breathing extremely slow and becoming slower. "Son?" She whimpered, feeling the wet film in her eyes. "My babe?" All those years, all twenty three of them began to fly past her in mind. No parent ever wishes for something as dreadful as this. They were to die first, their children should remain. Not the other way around. She began to pray, her eyes squinting with concentration. Desperately begging Jesu to save her eldest son. Save his bloodline. Save his other.

"Anveena." The Empress was to distracted to hear her voice being called. The sound of feet patting against the floor came into the silent hallway, which was followed by a chorus of gasps.

"Aslan!" The voice was of Kalecgos, it sounded of sheer terror. The Emperor kneeled on the other side of the unconscious Prince. His hand ran across his heir's face, noticing how cold the felt.

"It was Dark!" Anveena wailed in anguish, her hands meeting her face. "Dark!" The Emperor held his frantic wife in hopes to calm her down. Her face buried itself his chest, crying hard enough that her exhales started to come out as coughs, all the while repeating the snake's evil name.

Kalecgos' angered, jade eyes turned to the other court members who followed him here.

"Wake Sir Gilsdorf! Tell the guards I want a full search of the castle. If you find _anyone_, I want them brought into the council room!" His demands were like thunder, and his listeners like a pack of frightened dogs. They all began to run about in a panic as they left to do as their master told them.

Zanze was among the few who followed Kalecgos and was the only one now who remained in the royal family's presence.

The dark woman placed a sincere hand on the Emperor's shoulder. "Bring him to his room." She requested in a soft voice. "Perhaps there is a way to reverse the damage done."

The Empress' face peeped out of its hiding as she heard her friend's calm voice. "Kalecgos," She mumbled, placing a hand on his chest, begging him to do as Zanze said.

The Emperor nodded to his court member and with little hassle was able to pick up the limp Prince's body and carry him back to his room.

Zanze looked over the unconscious Aslan. Her fingers running over the two, inflamed puncture wounds on his neck. The Emperor and Empress stood at the end of the bed, watching nervously as the dark woman continued her examination.

"What do you think, Zanze? Is there anything that can be done?'' Anveena asked in an eerie calmness.

"It wasn't poison." Zanze stated, then added with a tone sounding a bit more distressed. "He used a spell, but it's something ancient. Some enchantment that I have never heard being used for many years. I'm sorry, I cannot think of a cure that can make him wake now. Time seems to be the best treatment I can suggest."

"The energy from the spell is still in his body," Kalecgos remarked as he walked around the side of the bed. His hand hovering over his son's body, seeming to sense the feeling of the spell within Aslan. "It's strong and as you say, Zanze, a spell of old. There is no way Dark could muster up enough power, even as strong as he is, to pull off this."

"What spell is it Kalec?'' The Empress asked. Her husband did not respond, but only looked down at his child laying in the bed. His eyes read hatred and upset. After a minute of silence, he walked out of the room with out a word; slamming the door on his way out.

"He is a strong man, my Empress." Zanze encouraged once the uneasy air of the Emperor's exit left. "The blood of Jesu flows through him. He will fight it off, he has the strength of the beast for which he is named. You should rest, your majesty, you have been through an ordeal as all of us have. By morning we shall see if he is recovering." Though Anveena wanted to believe her, she was thinking far more of the worse that could happen to her child instead of the best. It was a trait, the Empress felt a good amount of mothers had. The instant that promised child was placed into her arms, gurgling instead of crying, she understood he would be in grave danger until he would be able to put the snake to rest. She swore to herself that moment she would do everything in her great power to make sure the danger never harmed him. Now, as she looked at her son in this state for the second time with in a year's span, she couldn't help but feel she had failed herself as a mother as well as failing her offspring. Zanze led Anveena out of the room quietly, leaving Aslan alone in the darkness of his room to once again, fight to wake up.

Despite the fact he couldn't even open his eyes, the trapped soul of Prince was in agony through the rest of the night. His bones felt like they were breaking, twisting and enlarging. His mouth was filled with aching teeth and his face felt as if it was puffing up and swelling like a bee's sting. The feeling of his thumbs disappeared as his other four fingers thickened and his nails split through the tips of his fingers like tiny little daggers.

The words from the lion began to echo, haunting him in this blackness as he felt his body going through this extremely horrible sensation of pain.

"You bare my name, therefore I am you. We are equal."


	33. The Next Morning

The sun was near the peak of its climb when the Prince woke up next morning. He let out a painful inhale as his eyes adjusted to the bright light that shone through his window. He rose to a sitting position, sluggishly trying to get himself out of bed. His hands felt swollen as they pressed against the mattress and as his feet dangled just above the floor. His whole body felt weird and awkward, but he did just get up. The feeling probably would wear off once he was totally awake.

Aslan pushed himself up off the bed to stand up. He stood for a brief moment, only to lose his balance and toppled over to the ground. He grunted as he tried to pull himself back up, only to notice the door to his bedroom was left wide open and standing right in the doorway was one of Anveena's servants. Her eyes were mortified as if she was looking death in the face.

The Prince felt his cheeks getting hot. Falling out of bed the way he did was embarrassing enough, let alone having someone else witness it. A uneasy chuckle bent his lips as he tried to think of a statement that would explain his clumsiness.

However, he found out that his explanation was not needed to explain. A high-pitched scream from the servant girl. He swore he felt his ears fold back and heard himself hiss and spit at the irritating sound.

She didn't stay to apologize for her outburst, in fact, she starting to sprint for her life down the hall. "The Prince has been eaten! The Prince has been eaten!" Her screech echoed with the same horrified, awful sounding tone.

Though the girl was already too far to hear him, he called after her from where he lay on the floor: "No, I have-." He halted himself in the middle of his sentence.

His voice had changed and it didn't sound human. It sounded wilder, deeper and loud like a waterfall. He shifted his gaze back towards the bed. The mattress he was just sleeping in was filled with feathers that spilled out from open tears in the cloth. _Huge_ tears in the cloth. The clothes he wore that evening were in pieces and scattered on the bed or on the floor around it.

Just then he felt a muscle spasm on the lower part of his back. His eyes lowered down to his hindquarters, where he then realized what had caused the lady to scream. Why is bed was in shambles.

A long, furry tail with a large tuft of fur on the end rose up and hit his flank, which was also furred in gold and bent into in a way that was definitely not anything in comparison to a human leg. His chiseled abdomen had turned into a lean, muscular gut. He looked down to his hands, now seeing they had become a pair of huge, velvet paws. He lifted one up, examining the dark brown, fresh color of his pads and stared in astonishment of the long, extremely sharp claws that were unsheathed as he flexed his four digits.

Only one more thing would prove something had happened to him in the night as a result of being bitten by the snake. On his four paws now, though he looked as gawky as a baby learning to walk, he approached the full-length mirror that was placed on the opposite side of his room.

There he stood, staring in disbelief of this creature that looked back at him from the glass. His messy, gold shag of hair had become a long, flowing mane. The tanned flesh of his skin had grown fur, just as the rest of his body had. His perfect human nose had grown long with a large, pink triangle of skin sat in between his nostrils. Multiple, long whiskers extended from his muzzle that lay just above an enormous mouth, whose terrifying set of teeth were concealed by sagging, black lips.

Prince Aslan, Son of the Great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea, heir to the Mohthelieum's throne had turned into a lion. And what made it all the more worse was he found he couldn't change himself back.

He tried every transfiguring spell he knew, each one having no effect. No matter how many times he kept trying, he remained a beast. Again his eyes met the mirror. He looked into his new lion stare, large and amber, so much like a cat's eye, yet, somewhere deep in them could the distant cry of his human form be heard.

His claws unsheathed again, this time in a mixture of rage and upset. It was Dark's fault. The belly-crawler had done this to him, and what had he ever done to the serpent? Nothing. Nothing that deserved _this_. He felt upset at himself for letting down his guard the moment those evil fangs bit into his neck. Upset he couldn't just have taken care of the slithering mass of filth. Upset of what was to happen now that he was stuck like this.

In a sudden build up of anger, he let out a scream of defeat. Though, as it came out of his throat it sounded much more like a thunderous roar than the human sound he was trying to make. It shook the castle down to its foundation, made the waves stir as if there was a terrible storm approaching. It horrified all those who heard it on the Isle. Once the wild noise stopped, the panicked chorus of cries from men and women filled the air.

The familiar sound of Bailiff's bark trailed in the hall, followed by the sound of people running behind. However, the barking didn't sound like the excited, playful yips the hound usually did when in the presence of friends. No. This bark was loud and aggressive. It meant business and the Prince could sense that as the dog slid past the door way and stood rigid inside the room. Once he caught sight of the Lion his head lowered. His white teethed were bared with drool spewing and foaming at the ends of his mouth in a threatening growl. His tail wasn't wagging. His already small eyes were squinted in focus and fury. It had a lurid look upon them. A look with the incentive to kill.

Without saying anything, the hound launched itself at the Lion with his jaws open wide. The Prince found the only defensive move he could make was leaping out of the way. The dog landed and slid a bit as he tried to plant himself back on the ground.

"Bailiff! Hear me! I am Aslan!" The Lion cried as he crouched beside the wall.

"Demon!" The hound retorted as he flung himself again. Aslan leaped over the dog and onto the bed, only to be followed by Bailiff's lunge. The hound was unceasing in his wish for blood. He was unconvinced that this enormous, dangerous lion had inside it the gentle, loving Prince he was proud to call his master. This lion had killed the Prince, somehow. Swallowed the man whole. It was Dark, in the form of a lion. It had to have been.

Bailiff finally caught hold of flesh and grinned as a yowl of pain came from Aslan (though he did not know it was truly Aslan). His jaws bit straight down onto the cat's arm and made it bleed.

"Off of me!" The Prince snarled as he threw his arm forward. The force was enough to make the dog lose its grip on the bleeding wound, it was enough to send the hound flying across the room and collide into the mirror. the glass shattered into pieces, some of them cutting the dog. There was a thud that was followed by the tinkling of glass as it hit the floor. Some shards stained red. Bailiff was still now.

The realization of what Aslan had just done to his friend made him forget all about the wound the hound made. The Lion ran to the dog's side, prodding the dog with his muzzle. "Bailiff. Rise. Please, rise!"

The hound shifted his body about an inch and slumped back. His beady eyes opened as a whine, that almost sounding like crying, squeaked through his drooping mouth.

A loud, unanimous sound of gasps and screams startled the Prince as he turned back towards the doorway. He recognized most everyone standing before him. His father, his mother, his younger brother, Zanze, Fendrel, Charon, Sir Gilsdorf, a few other court members- all of them with a horror-struck look on their faces. All of them unsure what to make of what their eyes were seeing.

"Aslan?" Stelan gasped, about to run up to the wounded lion before Kalecgos pulled him back.

"No, please! Father, it is I! I am Aslan in this body." The Lion explained quickly, afraid the crowd of people would attack him just as Bailiff did.

"This could be a trick." Fendrel warned the Emperor. "Just watch, it will start crying and make you feel pity for it. Then, when you get close enough it will tear your head off. It killed the Prince."

"I am the Prince!" The Lion stated again, the sadness in his heart growing as the frightened faces of all those he loved and knew continued to look on. Did he truly look _that_ terrifying?

"Kalec," Anveena said softly as she took her husband's shoulder, it appeared she had the same thinking as Stelan. Perhaps the creature was the Prince. The Emperor's gaze flashed to the Lion, who was trying to make the most honest looking expression he could on his long, furry face.

Kalecgos recalled the night of Aslan's birth. The image of a lion walking across the beach line the instant his son was born. He knew now that wasn't a vision of the glory, power, and greatness his son would achieve. It was an ominous sign of what was to happen.

Stelan found the time his father was in thought to shove off his grip and run towards the Lion's side. A chorus of 'No!' 's and gasps rang fearfully until the boy buried his face in the beast's mane, weeping softly.

"Can't you all see it is truly my brother!" Stelan exclaimed as he turned back to the crowd. His voice was sharp and displeased. "Dark has changed him into this. Dark is to blame!"

Aslan saw their expressions now. Though Stelan's claims were enough to boil the lot's blood and send them into a rage of threatening Dark. The Lion found they appeared to be ashamed of _him_, not of Dark's actions. Some had the look of disgust upon their faces, and those few left the room. Fendrel being one of them. Other's looked of sadness and humiliation and those few remained which were Charon, Zanze, Anveena and Kalecgos.

"Um-A-Aslan your arm." Charon pointed out uncomfortably as he stared at the bleeding bite mark on Aslan's forearm.

"I shall be fine. But Bailiff..." The Prince turned to look to the limp body of the dog, only to find him panting and resting his head on Zanze's lap.

"He is alright." She assured the Lion.

"Forgive me, my Prince." the hound said sadly.

"It should be I asking your apology."

"All is forgiven, your highness." Once Bailiff knew, his loyalty transitioned to the beast instantly.

Aslan looked to his two parents as they still stood by the doorway staring at the beast which was now their son. The Empress looked as if she would cry, the appearance that her child now took tortured her to the very deep of her soul. The Lion felt his heart breaking at the sight of his mother's confused and upset face. He could feel tears welling in his own eyes, he never liked to see his mother in such a distressed state. The Emperor had a mixed expression. He looked both upset for his son's sake and anger of what now his son was. Kalecgos was torn between his thoughts.

_Out of the course of his life, he has encountered the snake more times than any person would feel comfortable doing so. All those times, Dark had overpowered him. If Aslan truly is graced with being the final slayer of the serpent, wouldn't he have overcome Dark by now? Is this a sign, my Great Emperor who's name is unknown? Jesu? Is my eldest son not who we thought he was meant to be? Is he not your other?_

"Father?" Aslan asked with a murmur of nervousness, rising to his feet. The Emperor blinked the blank stare from his eyes and focused on the lion whom was calling him father.

Aslan found his response was his majesty walking swiftly out of the room, following after his court members and appearing to pretend nothing had happened. The Empress went after her husband, not realizing the Prince had followed her out of the room.

She called after Kalecgos, raising up her skirts as she ran up to his side. "What in Jesu's name are you doing?" She panted as she stepped in front of his path of travel, making the Emperor halt his quick walk. He took her shoulder and gently pushed her out of the way. "He is your heir!" Anveena responded, offended by him shrugging her off like an insignificant complaint.

"Did you see what I saw, Anveena?" He questioned, a sourness to his voice. "_Did you_? That is a Talking Beast!"

"He is our_ son_." She retorted angrily.

"A son that we will be proud to call the laughingstock of all of Mohthelieum. No one will take him seriously now that he has become that _animal_. Look at him Anveena, He is no longer one of _us_!"

"Kalec!" The Empress gasped.

The muffled sound of footfalls made them turn their gaze back down the hall, where the Lion's presence was finally made known. He heard everything. His amber eyes wet and glazed, wrinkles in his muzzle started to bunch together as his long, white canines were revealing themselves from under his lips. He was panting hard, whether to resist from flying into a fit of fury or bursting into tears wasn't clear.

"Aslan," The Empress murmured in sorrow as she tried to approach her son. The Prince pulled his great head away from her comforting hand and went off in a mad sprint down the hall, nearly knocking over his father as he did so. Neither of them had ever seen him run that fast before.

Both their majesties looked at each other as the awkward moment began to play out. The Emperor had his lips slightly open, trying to think of the right words to say.

"Don't speak." The Empress ordered, not asked politely as a woman of royalty should. Ordered. "Go settle down your court. They are probably panicking like a herd of sheep without their ram by now."

"Anveena-" He said coolly to her.

"Just-!" She exclaimed raising her hands over her head in exasperation. The Empress paused for a moment, allowing her rage to die down. With a long, tired sigh she lowered her arms, adding calmly: "Just go and take care of the others._ I_ will comfort _my_ son."

And with that, her majesty turned away from her Emperor's side and walked swiftly in the direction the Lion ran off. Kalecgos did not stop her, he continued on towards the council room with a heaviness in his steps and (though he didn't want to truly admit it) in his heart.

Aslan had remained hidden from sight the rest of the day, he dared hide himself in the one place he hadn't visited since the night on the Eastern Shore a week ago.

The forest.

He slumped over the edge of a clear pool that glowed under the spotlight of the moon's ray that wiggled itself past the narrow path between two treetops. Again, he looked into the same golden, furry face of a lion.

''Laughingstock of Mohthelieum," He mumbled to himself, his tail splashing into the water, disturbing its stillness with an explosion of ripples. Distorting his reflection. "Is that was is to become of me?"

The Lion pictured it. Him entering the court room and hearing the loud roars of hysterical laughter as representatives pointed their dirty fingers at the great beast who dared show his face. He pictured the looks on the faces of the Mohthelieum court. He saw his father's disapproving look as he stared at the transformed Prince, and his mother's as she turned her head aside thinking the horrible noise would go away if she did so.

_There is nothing for me here, now. _Aslan thought miserably as he looked back into the pool, now that the water was still again. _This isn't my place._

"Aslan?" The soft call interrupted his thoughts. For an instance, he thought the voice sounded like the long gone gardener. She had returned! She was walking through the woods and found him! The Prince's heart leaped as he spun around, ears perked and eyes searching for that beautiful figure he had missed so much.

"Lilly?" He exclaimed longingly.

"Aslan!" It was closer now, the person pushed through the trees and came under the moon's pearly spotlight.

The Lion's heart fell back down again. His assumptions were wrong, the woman standing before him looked all too familiar to his appearance when he was human. Her amber eyes sparkled an eerie pale yellow under the moon as she approached him.

"Mother." Aslan mumbled sadly, turning around again to hunch back down beside the pool. The Empress appeared in front of him, making him stand and look at her despite that he didn't wish to make eye contact.

"Dear, what are you doing?" She said tenderly in her warm, motherly voice.

He didn't respond. His eyes veered away from her own, staring at the ground in submission like a child being scolded.

"Please, look at me." She added as one of her hands took hold of his white, bearded chin and pulled his great head back towards her own. "You are not some beggar on the street who does not feel worthy to look upon me. You are my son. My Prince."

"Soon to become the insult of my dynasty." He remarked as he pulled away again.

"Well, not of _mine_." Anveena exclaimed after Aslan as he began to walk off deeper into the woods. He knew that tone. The cat stopped and waited to hear what else she had to say. "Yes, you are in the form of a lion now." She continued. "Yes, you probably can no longer do some things physically humans can, but that does not make you any less my son and it does not make you any less apart of the family you belong to. You are a Prince. You are my son, and I love you no matter what state you are in."

Moved by her words, Aslan allowed his mother to near. Anveena kneeled, her head equal height to his large mouth. "I have faith in you." She murmured encouragingly. "But I cannot make you give yourself faith. That you must do on your own. Do you believe you are any less than what you were?"

"No." He responded quickly, a hint of insult that she thought he had no self-confidence.

"Then _prove_ it!" She whispered with a smile. "Prove to yourself and everyone else that you are far greater than just a Talking Beast. That you are the Second Jesu, that you are still a Prince of Mohthelieum. Overcome this barrier just as you have all others that have been in your way."

The truth of his mother's inspiring words charged through him as if he was just struck by lightning. He wanted to roar, snarl, scream out for all to know that nothing will ever hold him back. He was Aslan the Lion, and he would accept that title with pride.

However, he found himself placing his paw on his mother's back and pulling her in closer in an embrace. She accepted it, her long arms barley ringing around his thick neck. Anveena buried her face in her son's soft, long mane. Feeling the vibration of a loud, gentle purr as it thundered in his throat.

**A/N: And Aslan is now officially a lion! *has a rave party* Now we can get into the good stuff! Oh and yes, there will possibly be a lot of mother/son bonding, it will be necessary for future chapters. Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review!**


	34. Cause and Effect

"They're starting to think you're not really the Second Jesu." The younger prince said slowly to his brother as he popped a plump, purple grape into his mouth. "The council doesn't believe you have proved yourself in all the instances you have faced Dark. Your transformation being the main evidence."

"How did I not see this coming," Aslan murmured as he laid himself on his belly, lounging lazily in the clean cut grass of the Gardens. "What else could I expect from my people?"

The Lion paused a moment as he gingerly rolled his tongue over a paw. "What was father's reaction?"

Stelan was quiet for a few moments, his jade eyes lowered to the ground as he bit his lip. "He didn't say anything. He was pretty quiet when it was brought up."

Aslan's sigh was as loud as thunder. A breath of disgust.

"Aslan," Stelan added softly, sounding afraid.

"Stelan?" The Prince replied.

"They think _I'm_ the Second Jesu." the boy added in an even quieter voice.

The Lion's ears twitched forward, appearing as if he didn't catch what Stelan said clearly. "Brother, is this true?"

"It was all they talked about." Stelan went on, his voice getting faster. "The court has this idea that perhaps the Second Jesu was still with them, except that they were focused on the wrong person. They went on saying how my birth was closer to Jesu's own. How I look similar in features. Aslan, they were coming up with the stupidest things to prove maybe I was the Second Jesu instead of you! You must tell them they're wrong Aslan! Please! I _know _I'm not the Second Jesu.'' Stelan began to beg desperately. "No one has taught me how to fight Dark, I'm not as strong as you are. I don't have the dreams you have. I can't possibly be it. I can't-!"

''Peace, Stelan!" Aslan said calmly as he rose the bush of his tail to his

brother's lips, telling the boy to stop talking and relax himself. "Those are gifts bestowed on Heirs," He continued as he removed his tail. "Not because of prophecies. They will not listen to me. Their minds are plagued with prejudice and faithlessness. I cannot make them see what they force themselves not to see."

"Does it hurt to actually try and help them see?" Stelan remarked with a hint of anger that the beast seemed so unwilling to defend himself as well as his sibling. "Mother, Zanze, Charon, Xavier, Tom-all of them as well as I are on your side. If you persuade them enough, the council will listen to you." Then the boy began to speak quickly again, only this time it was because he came up with an idea that aided his problem. "I can ask father for you to have a hearing later today. Brother please, do not let the court dub me something I'm not. You've always been what they wanted. I cannot even compare."

The Lion tilted his head in thought, his tail thumping at a slow beat against the earth. "I will only do this once." He finally stated as his large, amber eyes looked to Stelan. "If they do not listen to me and go on their way then I will not fuss with it any further."

"Aslan why are you so nonchalant about this!" the boy blurted out irately. The sudden tone made the cat give a look that seemed to be slightly offended. "For your whole life you've been trained to become the Second Jesu everyone wanted you to turn into. Their second savior from Dark. Why are you turning your back on it as if it was nothing? Why do you not care anymore!"

The Lion didn't answer. The great cat's attention veered away from his brother to something on the other side of the garden.

Stelan followed Aslan's focused graze to see Charon running towards them, tripping over his own shoes in his rush.

The knight's eyes were paler than usual and his face was red in a mixture of panic and exhaustion. Charon propped himself up on a tall column that bordered a hedge his heaves of breath were clearly audible even from a few feet away. "You better come quickly." was the urgent pant.

Aslan seemed to have sensed the fear in the knight's voice and rose to his paws in an instant. The younger prince was delayed in a reaction to Charon's request. The confusion of the moment overwhelmed him. He had no idea if he should still be sitting or running in panic. He did not understand what was going on.

The older ones spoke to one another despite the absence of Stelan. The boy assumed they were whispering about why there was a sudden need for action. They spoke only for a minute and the brother could see a change in the cat. His tail had stopped swinging and lay limp on the ground. His ears were bent back in uneasiness and his mouth gaped in a silent and small gasp. Now something truly had to be wrong.

"Aslan?" The younger prince's call was muted out by a horrible sound that reverberated from the white castle. The noise had the familiar sound of a trumpet only Stelan did feel the spur to get up and dance to the tune. The sound made him want to run and hide, he felt his heart stop and his soul shrink in fear until the noise ceased. He couldn't remember ever hearing such an awful noise before in his life but that didn't seem to be the case with Aslan and Charon. They both appeared to recognize the sound all too well.

"Stelan, come!" The Lion roared over the second blare of the alarm. In panic, the boy pushed off the ground and ran with an unstable balance like Charon's towards the other two.

"What is going on?" the boy cried in a cracking voice. Another wave of the alarm passed.

"There is an emergency meeting." Charon explained briskly. "By the Emperor's order all living beings are told to remain in the council room until further notice."

"I am not going to sit in that room and wait this out like a petrified child." Aslan protested, pounding a paw in emphasis. "There are many others who deserve to be safe just as much as I."

"Parties have already been sent to evacuate, Aslan." Charon said in a calm, objective voice. "Kalecgos needs us in court right_ now_."

With reluctance, the Lion and his brother followed the knight to the court room. The benches that sat representatives were slowly beginning to fill up with residents on the island. The screaming alarm was only but a slight bit muffled with the acoustics of the chamber and its sound haunted those who were pouring in. Most were families. Frightened children and parents who could not console their offspring for they themselves were not entirely sure what was happening. Zanze stood in the center of the floor, speaking loudly into the stands of incoming people. "This is an emergency evacuation. At this moment, there is nothing to fear. This action is only taken as a safety precaution. You all will be informed of when you can leave or when greater action will be taken once more information is gathered. Please, your cooperation is necessary until this has passed. Thank you."

"Zanze," Stelan exclaimed as he walked up to her, Aslan and Charon flanking him. "Do you know what is happening?"

"Princess Jadis has spoken the Deplorable Word." She stated as calmly as she said the announcement a few moments ago. If there was anything more frightening than the Lord of Darkness himself it was the Deplorable Word. The most dangerous and deadly spell ever known to man. The single word had the power to kill every living thing in sight except the fool who uttered it. The spell was only known by the most powerful and wisest of harvesters of magic. Jadis could not have possibly been able to know the word, unless someone had told her.

"Charn is dying fast. It is alleged Dark taught her the word." Her attention then focused on all three of them. "The Emperor and Empress are in the throne room with the rest of the council. They've been expecting you."

"If Dark was able to go from Charn to Mohthelieum and back who is to say he will not do it again?" Fendrel's protest was harsh and furious with small voices backing his assumption. "Who is to say he will not come here and try to destroy Moht with that word as well?"

"I have not foreseen it." Kalecgos remarked rising from his seat in protest to the Nobleman's claims. "My sons have not foreseen it. If something as terrible as Mohthelieum having Charn's fate, do you not think the Nameless Emperor would inform me of it?"

"We cannot take chances your grace! Maybe he will not do it today, but perhaps tomorrow or the day after that or perhaps the day after that one. Will you rely your decisions on dreams, Great Emperor? We do not have time for that."

"Yet we have time to sit here and talk about actions that should be being preformed right now?" Aslan's declaration startled the court members to silence. Charon and the two princes entered their majesties presence.

"You dare insult us trying to find a diplomatic solution to this terrorism?" the Nobleman retorted to the Lion.

"As I heard you mention, Fendrel, Dark was able to leave Mohthelieum and return to Charn. A world that is excommunicated cannot be entered just by magic. No, the serpent has been using another way."

"And which way, pray, is that?" Sir Gilsdorf asked in his hoarse voice.

The Lion turned to his old mentor then to the other members. "The Wood Between the Worlds." People were silent, Aslan continued. "As long as that pool is filled with the magic water that transports one to the world it is a portal. A portal we must block immediatley. You all agreed to evacuate the island into our home? Do you also plan on doing that for all the other Realms who have a far greater population than our own little isle?"

"It is a safety precaution." Anveena began, trying to hold that their motives were good and were given the best thought.

"My Empress, I understand." Aslan replied, not daring affront his own mother. "But I believe it is the Wood Between the Worlds we should be defending. My fellow council members! Dark can slither out of Charn's pool and speak the Deplorable World there!" Eyes began to grow wide in horror and realization. The great cat knew their attention was with him now. "He would at minimum cut Mohthelieum off from all the other Realms and do whatever he pleases with us. Or at worse, destroy all the Realms."

"What do you propose we do, your majesty?" Charon asked.

"We must-." The Lion and the Emperor both responded at the same time and caught each other's eye once they realized it.

"My Emperor." Aslan backed down, ears bent in submission and bowing his head.

"Kalecgos," Fendrel said, rising from his seat. "This is madness he speaks. What will we tell the Realms? A _beast_ overthrew our court and told us how we are to run Mohthelieum?"

"I am still the Prince of Mohthelieum and still son of the Emperor." Aslan remarked, a warning in his voice.

"Yes, Nobleman." The Empress added in her son's aid. "I do believe it is you who is trying to overthrow the court." A murmur of agreement can from almost everyone. She looked to her son, seeing a look in his eye that made her want to sit down and never speak again.

_Mother, I can fight my own battles._ His voice said calmly in her thoughts.

_Sometimes an army is made better with just one more person fighting for it._ She responded back.

The Emperor rose from his seat to speak. Fendrel sat as well as Aslan. The cat sat in the center of the floor. His tail ringing around his massive paws, waiting for his father to give his conclusion.

"Prince Aslan's words are wise beyond his years." Kalecgos began gravely. "I leave him in charge of carrying out his plan. Listen to him but do not mind in sharing your opinion, for he _will_ work with it as best he can." The Lion nodded at the hinted order.

"This is absurd." Fendrel muttered with crossed arms.

"Nobleman," The cat stated quickly. "Since you seem to have such a distaste of my ideas then I leave you in charge of informing the evacuees what has happened and how it is being fixed. If they ask for any food or drink you will give them what they ask."

"I object to this, my opinions do not agree." Fendrel's protest was almost tattling. A very immature approach to gaining the Emperor's favor.

"Was it not your plan to evacuate? You were backing it so greatly."

"Yes-but-"

"Then your wishes shall be appeased while working with your original plan." Aslan said no more, no less.

The Nobleman was about to complain to the Emperor about this ridiculousness but Kalecgos' jade eyes were forewarning and told Fendrel to silence himself and go do as he was ordered. With no shame, the man rose from his seat. His chin almost pointing straight to the arched ceiling. He made no eye contact with all those men and women staring at him as he began to walk towards the council room.

"This isn't over." The Nobleman hissed in the cat's ear as he passed Aslan.

The Lion drew no attention to it, he understood the Nobleman was a sore loser. Beast or not beast, the man hated losing an argument with anyone.

The Prince continued giving his orders.

"Sir Gilsdorf, how well trained are your men?"

"I offer you my own sword as well as my greatest and well fit men."

"We will need to station your knights in the Wood." The cat stated. "They will have to patrol the pools the rest of the day and through the night."

"I will see to it immediatley, Charon, Stelan, are you game for this mission?"

"Of course!" The two boys exclaimed from the other side of the room.

"My Emperor," The Prince began. "May you please perform the trapping spells? The wood and the pool to Charn must be quarantined if we want to be sure Dark does not leave Charn."

"You will aid me will you not, son?" Kalecgos asked with, from what Aslan saw, a light glimmer in his eye.

"Yes, I will but your power is necessary for blocking the portal to a world as great as Charn."

The Emperor bowed his head. It was a yes.

"My Empress, there are arrangements that need to be made. An emergency council meeting must be held immediatley."

She too, also bowed her beautiful head. " The court and myself shall see to it."

"Come then, Aslan." Kalecgos called as he left his seat and approached the cat. "We cannot waste further time sitting and doing nothing." And with that, the meeting was closed and all began to do as they were ordered. Sir Gilsdorf took Stelan and Charon with him to rally up the knights, Anveena and the court remained sitting and decided on the fastest way to inform the rest of the Realms, and there was the great cat flanking his father as they walked out of the safety of the castle walls.

"Thank you, father for allowing me to speak.'' Aslan said quietly, slightly nervous his father would deject him. Since the fateful day of his turning, the Lion had never stepped foot in the council room let alone a normal court meeting. His voice was unheard for the fear of discrimination because of his form. He thought it wiser to just stay away rather than being forced to shut up and banished from the room. However, now it was different. He no longer felt afraid. His father did not banish him from his sight once the cat entered the room nor did the Emperor silence him. Kalecgos even _complimented_ him.

"It was by Jesu's pity you somehow were able to make a good argument amongst your fellow members, son." was the cold critique. "However, this council knows you far greater than the Realms do. I tell you now, what you had just preformed in the throne room will never happen twice. If you do speak at this urgently planned Gathering, you must be extremely cautious and impartial. Do you understand?"

Aslan felt his heart shrivel up like prune baking under the hot sun. He began to wonder if his father made the decision to have his son in charge because perhaps he didn't completely despise his son or because, being the Emperor, he had to be just. "Yes, sire." The cat mumbled as his ears folded back in submission.

"Come take my hand, the walk is far too long for the time we are given."

Later that day Sir Gilsdorf had brought his men to the Wood. A hundred strong, including himself, Tom, Xavier, Charon and the newly made knight, Stelan. The Emperor had now left matters into his heir's hands and was not present as the Lion began instructing where soldiers were to be posted and how shifts would work. Sir Gilsdorf along with his closest and strongest knights followed the Lion to the pool of Charn. They were to guard the portal first, guard it as if their lives were dependent on it and to fight until their dying breath if ever a the terrible feat was to be taken. Every man put at this post was given the same lecture. Other men were placed in the trees, in case assistance was needed and then the rest of the lot were split to patrol certain sections of the wood and then report to their appointed leader once they returned to their meeting station. Two guards stood at the gates, Kalecgos had shut the magical doors for a temporary amount of time to make further safety measures if anything was able to slither its way into the Wood it would not be able to leave it.

"Stelan would you mind staying with me to guard the pool later this evening?" Aslan requested as he walked alongside his brother, watching over the progress of his organized patrols.

"As long as I can keep my eyes open I will." The boy replied as he followed the cat's eyes over the scurrying soldiers. Stelan's eyes darted back to his brother when he noticed Aslan had stopped his long stride. A group of men were gathered by the gold gates, talking and laughing. The younger prince could hear the low rumble of a growl in the Lion's throat. There was only supposed to be two men posted there.

"Wait here, Stel." The Lion said gravely with a wrinkled muzzle.

"Aslan-!" The cat was already walking off towards the men who dared disobey his rules. The younger prince found it best to stand and watch.

"Soldiers!" There was no roar, but only a stern exclamation that was meant to catch the men's attention. Four men, two who were not supposed to be there. Aslan seemed to have no difficulty picking out who were the rebels.

Stelan was too far away to hear which names he called out. The boy only saw two men step forward both with their arms crossed and with faces of trying patience.

"You both are to be patrolling the far western side of the wood." There was demand in the cat's voice. It was an obvious clue that the soldiers should start heading to where they were placed quickly or otherwise suffer the consequences.

One of the knights must have had a sudden spur of courage as he decided to speak out against the beast. "Not to offend your grace, but-I am not taking orders from an animal. It is not right. It would be as if a dog was telling me how to fight. It just isn't logical."

"Logical." Aslan scoffed, a rising temper was in his voice. Stelan could sense the Lion's rage when he saw the hairs of his mane began to bristle and his claws unsheathing. The younger prince cupped his ears bracing himself for what was to come. This knight had no idea what he had done.

The great cat rose a paw and hooked the man's side, causing the body to collapse to the floor with a horrible_ thud_. It was some miracle the man didn't break a bone or feel the pain of one of those claws cutting into him.

"At least a dog has a sense of loyalty!" came the furious roar from Aslan. His paw was pressed on top of the man's chest, pressing down harder and harder onto his ribcage. "A trait you appear to lack. Now tell me, sir, to a human so perfect as yourself IS _THAT_ LOGICAL!"

The foolish knight's reply came out in a mixture of tears and screaming but eventually was able to screech out his answer: "N-N-No!"

The beast dug his claws into the man's tunic. Tearing the seams of the cloth as the daggers ran down his chest. There was no blood. Only a thin red line on the man's pale skin was noticeable. "Shall we be friends?" The Lion asked calmly, though the seriousness in his voice was still looming. It was a question that only had one answer. It appeared the man wasn't that stupid, since he was able to figure out the correct response.

"Yes, yes, please spare me!" The knight begged with praying hands.

"Go to your post," Aslan ordered in disgust as he let the man rise again. Stelan had never seen a man run faster than the knight did escaping his ruler's wrath. Even when Aslan was human, the boy did not think he ran _that_ fast. The other rebel stood awkwardly idiotically waiting for his own punishment.

"And what are your motives, sir?" The cat growled as his burning eyes set its sights on the other knight.

In fear of suffering the fright of his comrade, the man made some excuse up as quick as his mind could. "I seemed to have misplaced my sword, y-your grace. I've been trying to search for it-oh! Ha! Here it is-strapped to my belt. How clumsy of me!"

"Go." The cat said putting the fool out of his misery. Without a further word, the man too had left the Prince's presence.

Stelan stared at his brother as the Lion came walking back towards him. This was not the same Aslan he knew. At least, not the one he could ever remember. His brother's temper was harder to stir than a dead body. That idea had changed after seeing how furious the creature got from the insult (these sorts of things were always spit at him, even when he was a human. However, it is a cold world. Politics, I mean. Almost never is everyone appeased.). Was it because the proud Prince himself was insecure still of his form? Or was it by instinct that a feline temper had a shorter fuse?

"Forgive me, Stelan." The Lion seemed to have noticed the disturbed look in his brother's eye. "But it needed be done. For the sake of Mohthelieum, for all the Realms, we need to protect them. One slip up from a couple of brainless fools could be the end of everything."

As the cat's motives were revealed, the boy saw the look those golden unchanging spheres for eyes. They were worried. Worried as probably everyone who knew about the use of the Deplorable Word against Charn. He was concerned for his people, not because of his own self-conscious feelings.

_His actions were untamed but his intentions were good._ the boy knew this now, and he couldn't be prouder to have the beast as his older brother, whether society thought it right or not.

"It's alright." Stelan said quietly taking Aslan's massive shoulder. "I do think they'll listen to you now. I just wonder how the one with the tears in his armor is going to explain why they're there to the other soldiers."

A soft chuckle from Aslan lightened the anxious mood just enough to make the younger prince smile. Night was beginning to circle the edges of the fading morning sky. Patrols were coming in with any important news (which was nowhere to be found) and guards were changing shifts.

Aslan tilted his head towards a path between a thicket of trees. "Come, we are needed by the portal to Charn."

**A/N: Thank you for reading and don't forget to review! **


	35. Doubt

The Emergency Realm Gathering was held mid morning of the next day. Representatives were in a rather distasteful mood since the Wood Between The World's was no longer a mode of transportation for a temporary amount of time. There was still no news from the party that spent all of last night guarding the Wood. Both Princes were not present at the Gathering.

To sum up an excruciatingly long meeting, plans were made of how to take care of the Snake once and for all. Dark would be captured. Once the trapping spells worn off (which would not be for a few weeks at best) a group of warriors would be sent into Charn to find the Lord of Darkness and take him back to the castle. It was asked that each realm and world nominated one or two of their best warriors to aid Mohthelieum in this dangerous mission. The assembly would go through the pool to get into Charn and from there all they had to do was get the Snake, whether dead or alive was not mentioned, and bring him back to Mohthelieum.

The Emperor set the example by nominating two men who would represent their island, both the princes. An uproar came not for Stelan but for Aslan. The Realms knowing of the eldest Prince's transformation led to a drastic decline in popularity and respect for him. They no longer saw him as a divine Prince who was the other of Jesu but like the animal he looked like, like someone's exotic pet.

"He couldn't defeat the Magi before he turned into a lion why should we believe he can _now_?" was one of the comments exclaimed that echoed harshly in the Emperor and Empress' mind. No one believed anymore. To their people, the Second Jesu no longer existed. However, Kalecgos made it very clear that the choice was final and factually stated both princes have potential not found anywhere else on the isle. No representative contradicted his wishes further.

Once the gathering closed, the Empress and Emperor were notified that Aslan had returned to tell what had occurred during the night.

Nothing happened. Finally, everyone in the whole castle could finally take a breath and faint in relief.

Nothing had happened.

The Emperor sent the Lion back with a message that half of the men could return to their homes the other half stayed behind to guard just the single pool until sun high. It was also requested that Aslan bring back his brother, so both could be told about the mission that would take place later in the month.

"You aren't frightened about it, are you son?" the Empress asked her eldest. Stelan had spotted Helen aimlessly walking through the castle halls and decided to join her. It was only Aslan and Anveena as they sat in the ballroom together. The only two living souls in that enormous, empty room. Bare and dull with no parties to attend or host.

"Not for right now," He sighed looking away from her into nothingness, thinking about the whole matter. "I will worry about that when the time is necessary."

"I see." She responded, her fingers fidgeting in her lap. The Lion noticed, and knowing her for as long as he did, he knew it was a sign she was worried about something.

"But, I have a feeling _you_ are, mother?" He asked with concern.

"Do not worry how I feel, dear." She said softly. "It is a mother's right to worry for her children."

"As is the child's right to worry for his mother." He remarked placing his paw over her restless hands.

"You need not to," She pressed as her fingers grasped tight to his paw. "I brought you into this world knowing you would have to do these sort of things most mothers pray for their children not to do. I've learned to be brave about it just as you have."

He removed his paw once her hands broke free from their hold. She tried to start another conversation before the silence stirred between them. "Dear, do you remember when you had that dream of creating your own world? How you went on about it for days, telling your father and I what it look like and such?"

"That was a very long time ago," He replied, sounding embarrassed of her brining up such childish memories.

"That does not matter, it was a dream you always had. A mad, wonderful dream. I remember Zanze telling you how only the Nameless Emperor can only create life to that great scale. You told her it didn't matter; you were going to do it." She paused for a moment then added in a longing sadness: "Reality hadn't hit you then."

The Lion's ears folded back as a frown crooked his lips. "That time comes to all of us, doesn't it?" He asked his mother, sounding upset. His mind was wandering down a path that brought up times of long ago. Recollections that were extremely painful to play over again in his thoughts. "When everything we ever dreamed of being is destroyed by time and life? How do we regain it once it is lost? Are we too old to find again those fleeting memories again?"

The Empress caught the look in those huge, liquid gold eyes.

So many people in the Realms had much more terrible lives that couldn't even compare to the luxury in Mohthelieum, yet Anveena couldn't help but feel pity for the Prince. He had lost his innocence with age, (like many grown-ups do) lost his only love, and lost his identity. What he could cling onto now was pride. A hope he would be able to climb back up the Ladder even when the steps in between were all broken down the middle.

The Empress slid over beside her child, gently stroking his soft, thick mane. "Faith," She stated with a wisdom her age attributed. "If you believe they can return-they will. Maybe not in the way they originally were but they will return. But you must have faith, son. Faith that never dies. Faith that others jeer at for its stupidity but you hold your head high for, ignoring what they say."

"You believe then?" He asked looking at her with wondering eyes.

"I will _always_ believe in you, Aslan." The Empress smiled. "You're my Second Jesu, no matter if anyone else thinks so." Abruptly, the Lion pressed his face into her side and wrapped one of his strong arms around her. It was a rather awkward motion to the Empress for she had never been hugged by a lion before, at least, not in this way.

''Dear?" She stammered in surprise as he pulled away and stared at her in loving appreciation.

"You are never too old to receive and embrace from your conceiver, remember?" The Prince added with a flicker of joy in his voice.

Anveena felt a lump rise in her throat after hearing him quote such an unmemorable statement as that from so long ago. She wanted to hold him again like she did that day when he was no taller than to his father's elbow, but she instead held her emotions in and grinned warmly at his words like the stately woman she was raised to be.

"Yes, of course I remember."

"I must be leaving," He stated quickly, his focus darting between herself and something that was behind her. Someone approaching.

"But Aslan-." She protested, though her pleads were late as he hastily heaved up on all fours. His large eyes peered back down to her. Gentle and sincere, grateful for her, but she felt a pinch of sadness in them. A flicker of fear that nagged like a biting flea on a horse.

"Thank you, mother, for all your words." He murmured grimly as he began to turn his back to her. "But I believe someone _else_ deserves to hear them more than I do." The great cat padded off making no sound with each step, looking to have been banished by some heartless, cold-

"Anveena."

The Emperor.

She wished she hadn't have to get up from her comfortable sitting position, but in the end the Empress decided to greet her husband and rose to the tall height of her Emperor.

"Kalecgos," She responded dully.

"What is the matter?'' He asked gently noticing her vapid attitude to his presence. "You looked to be having a fine time with-."

"Yes, I was." She replied, interrupting him and then added reproachfully: "Until you shooed him off like an unwanted pet."

"I never did that." Kalecgos remarked defensively, holding his ground on what seemed to be Anveena starting an argument.

"It's not a matter of if you physically did it or not, Kalec! Can't you see? He is _frightened_ of you. Afraid of his own father. You merely walk into a room and he diminishes into a pile of worthless ash from a dead fire. He knows you do not accept him."

"I _do_ accept him." The Emperor said. "Did I not back him in there with a thousand men and woman spitting at me their denial?"

"Oh," She scoffed, her voice starting to raise in mere anger he had the gall to actually say what he said. "That's an excellent improvement. You should try to get him to eat dinner with us tonight too." The sarcasm in her voice made Kalecgos feel like an idiot, a sensation no man of his greatness wished to feel like.

"I love my sons, Anveena."

"You have a queer way of showing it." She added with a pang of coldness, brushing his shoulder as she attempted to leave his sight.

"You do not understand!" He exclaimed after her. "I _must_ do this."

The Empress paused and glared at her husband. Her gold eyes blazing like an enraged sun. The Emperor was too late to realize that what he said

had taken her the wrong way. "I don't understand. I know. I know I don't. I am not one of you high and mighty men who holds their head higher than everyone else's because of the purity of their blood. You know things I will probably never know. Understand life better than the oldest harvester in all the Realms. Forgive me, my Emperor. I forgot my place. I forgot all I am is a son-bearer who stands beside you and looks pretty for all of _your_ people, who eats nothing but cake and wine all day like a spoiled pig!"

Kalecgos came up to her and took her by the hands. "No. That is not what you are," He protested. "You are my wife, my love, and my ruler. I didn't mean to say that in a way to offend you. You just don't understand how I cannot change things once they are set. If he is to accomplish anything-."

"And treating him like this will make him accomplish things?" She interrupted, not believing any of Kalecgos' words.

"Dear, please let me finish! I told you once what he is to become. This is a part of it. I beg you, please, do not encourage him. Do not encourage him to do things that will distort the path laid before him."

"And you should not doubt him." She mumbled gravely in her defense, just loud enough for him to hear. "I will not treat my child in such a horrible way. I rather him stay here and live the remainder of his life in Mohthelieum than kicking him out onto the cold street! There is a path laid before him, Kalecgos, I know. I am on his right, holding his mane and walking with him. Tell me, dear, what are _you_ doing in that scenario?"

"Anveena, please do not act like this." Kalecgos beginning to sound like he was begging her to stop being mad with him. "Time is something we are running out of now, getting angry over what is supposed to happen is absurd."

The Empress said nothing. Her beautiful pink lips were sealed shut as was the expression on her face. She wasn't going to forgive him. Not now. She found her hands slipped easily out of his warm grip. Again, she attempted to leave his sight; only this time she succeeded. Emperor Kalecgos was left alone in the emptiness of the dusty, sunny ball room, using the silence to muse over all that was and is to happen.

The queen of Charn pulled the heavy curtain to the side, allowing the dim, orange light to bleed into her dark chambers. Dust shot into the air as the worn fabric was thrown to the side in such a violent action for its feeble self. The powerful harvester of Dark Magic stepped out onto the balcony. Her thin, cold hands grabbed onto the cracked, stained marble railing, her green eyes gazed over her land, her country.

No one was left. Everything that was living was dead. The grass fields of the courtyards dried up and yellowed until all that remained was dry earth. Trees vanished or toppled over. Even buildings, the epitome of power and agelessness were in ruins and close to collapse. All the colors that once surrounded the mighty castle of Charn had been layered with dust and caused the world to be colorless. There was no food, no water. She was it. Jadis was the last soul alive in Charn, she was the reason the world was still living though it was dead. Why one moment it was young and spirited like a colt prancing in a meadow and the next old and depressing like a funeral. The dream of her great empire laughed at her as she looked on into the dull, murky orange sun as it rose to the new morning. _This_ was her great empire? _This_ is what the Lord of Darkness promised her?

_I said it. _Jadis thought as she retreated back into her room, her pale hands intertwined in pensiveness. _I said the Deplorable World. I wanted to defeat my sister, and in doing so I defeated my country. No. I did not defeat my country. Ferona did! She could not surrender herself to me even when she knew her armies were losing against my own. Even when the waters of the river turned red she did not back down. She was too proud to back down. It wouldn't have come to this if it weren't for her arrogance._

"That's the _s-s-s-_spirit, child."

Beside the curtain was a perch made of silver. Twisted and coiled up around it was Dark, in the form of an enormous, black cobra; almost as tall as Jadis if he could stand up. His pink tongue smacked against his lips. His devil red eyes were watching her as she walked towards him, her green eyes muddled with vacillation. "She couldn't accept you were stronger. The only way she was to win was cheating. And you know how I feel about _cheating_."

"Yes, master." She mumbled. "Ferona deserved it." Jadis suddenly recalled a memory in her mind. She was in her room, a little young girl who looked a sickly pale as she coughed and wheezed. A terrible outbreak of the flu had swept through Charn and she was one of the unlucky few who caught it. Ferona was sitting by her bedside, reading to her aloud. It was her favorite story when she was a girl. A story about a knight who sleighed a terrible witch who tried to destroy all the goodness in the world. Ferona read it to her everyday she was sick, risking catching the sickness herself.

A terrible spitting nose sliced through Jadis' thoughts, making her jump and turn to where the noise came from. Dark expanded the flaps of skin on his neck to emphasize his anger, making him look twice as large as before. "Enough of that!" He exclaimed, drops of spit flying onto the polar bear skin carpet. "That was long ago, Jadis. You cannot judge someone by their past. Everyone changes sooner or later. That Ferona you knew back then was far different than the one who tried to kill you by cornering you in the castle. Don't you see, my child? You _had_ to say it. You had no choice. She was going to steal your throne, ruin your dream."

"My dream is ruined!" Jadis retorted, feeling the hot tears wet her dry, dusty eyes. "Look outside, I have no one to rule over. I have no servants. Everything is dead because of her!''

"Patience, my queen, patience," He hummed calmly coiling tighter around the perch. "Yes, this world maybe seeing its last few sunrises but it shall not matter. Our next step is Mohthelieum, that is where your dream reaches its greatness. You won't need Charn anymore once you take over the Emperor's throne."

Jadis turned away from the snake. Her bare feet walked across the thick, soft fur of the polar bear rug, slowly, questioningly. She sat on the edge of her bed, hands folded in her lap as her head bent down in reflection.

Dark's eyes squinted as he sensed her feelings. Jadis was loosing faith, she was beginning to distrust herself as well as the snake. She was beginning to wonder if it what she did that night, attempting to murder the Second Jesu, was really what she needed to do to get to power. The serpent smacked his lips again. He slithered down from his perch to the confused queen, not making a single noise as his coal colored scales rubbed against the floor.

"Jadis, Jadis," He murmured comfortingly as he crawled up beside where she sat in the bed. The tip of his tail touched her cheek and pulled her white beautiful face to his scaly own.

In a swift motion, the serpent wrapped the middle of his body around her arms and stomach, restraining her from struggling. He coiled up tighter around her body, making the queen inhale uneasily as he pulled in closer to her, examining her like helpless prey.

"What are you-?" The tip of his tail was shoved down her throat to silence her.

"One thing you should know about me, Queen Jadis," He whispered as his snout shifted to the left and talked into her ear. "I do not take lightly those who disagree with what I believe in. It gets me..._angry_. However, I always catch myself before my rage bursts and try to convince them I AM RIGHT!" He shot his tongue into her ear. The uncomfortable and gross feeling of his wet tongue digging into her skull made her scream and gag even with his tail in her mouth.

"It'll be over in just a moment. You will see things my way." He began to milk out the venom from his fangs, the white drops slid down his tongue into her ear. She twitched in distress every time a drop went into her ear canal and into her brain. Poisoning her thoughts. Poisoning her. After a good four or five drops trickled into her skull he extracted his tongue and freed his hold on her. The queen fell to the floor like a dead body, silent and still from shock.

"Rise, Jadis." He ordered her.

The queen of Charn found her muscles pulling herself up, obeying his words. She stood tall and looked at her master with a face of pride and reverence.

"My lord," She replied bowing low before the black cobra sitting upon her mattress.

"Now that you have succumbed to me, you and I are one. Whatever I command you shall proceed to do. I am in control of you now. Once you complete your service to me, then I shall free you from this spell."

"I am honored to serve my master. I will do so for as long as I must, for all time if I have to. Whatever you say, I shall do." She stated in agreement. Her tone was expressionless, brain dead. She was more of a puppet for Dark than ever before; now he truly owned her.

"There's a good girl," He said giving a terrible smile of triumph. He then heaved his massive coils off her bed and slithered to the other edge of the room. "Now, rest my dear. These next few days shall be very strenuous for you, we must prepare for our attack on Mohthelieum."

"Yes, sir." She droned as she crawled into the bed. "But, what shall you be doing?"

"Me?" he asked, surprised to hear her ask such a question. "Nothing that you should worry yourself with, my queen. I must send a letter to someone. There is still something blocking us from our dream and it must be done away with as soon as possible."

"What is that sir?" Jadis asked as she pulled the covers over herself.

Dark turned his large nose to her, his tongue twitching with an evil delight. "Just a dumb, little brat. As I said, it is nothing for you to worry about."

**A/N: Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! **


	36. Madi Ao

**/ ! \ : The gaps in between the writing indicate a point-of-view change. Also, there is a warning of violence/gore for those of you who are a little like Eustace and do not like hearing about battles and the horrible wounds that come with them. (the injuries are a little more extreme than past chapters) ;) **

The message was clear and direct. It was the answer to all.

Corner and kill.

Two words that explained everything and left no questions unanswered. It was a mission now, a task that was left in the hands of Graydon. The Magi had entrusted him with this job that would make everyone in all the Realms mutter his name in horror and fear, and the Dark Magician simply could not resist to have that ego spread like a horrible plague.

His feet cut through the earthy path like a newly sharpened sword. His pace quick and silent, making a gust of wind rush and disturb sleeping leaves every time he turned past a hedge's end. After what felt like miles and miles of endless passageways, Graydon had spotted what he was looking for. His long, ugly fingernails dug into the bark of the tree he was hiding behind, his prey completely unaware it was being watched.

The golden-haired Anveena had found herself terribly uncomfortable sleeping that evening. Everything ached and hurt as if she had preformed some sort of intense labor just a few hours earlier, her brain was restless not in thought, but in exhausting emptiness. She thought perhaps fresh, night air would diminish the thick barrier that blocked her from the good-night sleep she needed. Knowing no one would be out at this hour, she threw on a soft, warm robe to cover her flimsy night attire before stepping out.

The moon's glow was incredibly bright this night. It's cold, silvery light scorched her sleepy eyes, keeping them open wide in irritation. The Empress was beginning to think that it would have been better just to walk around the empty halls instead of coming out here under this horrible shine, but she never _could_ walk around the halls anymore at night. Not since a haunting night of not so long ago when Dark had broken into the castle. Against her will, the memory began to play out in front of her eyes again; taunting her, making her feel like the most despicable vermin in the world. Was that why she was so protective of the oldest Prince? To make up for not trying to stop the snake?

_No. _She thought to herself, shaking her head. _Your fault or not, you wouldn't have gone about it any other way then you are right now. _That reassurance had made her cool again as she slouched comfortably on the cool concrete rim of the fountain, staring up at the enormous lion, who drooled water from his mighty mouth into the pool below his pedestal. A small smile had bent her lips.

"Irony." She mumbled as her eyes blinked away.

Graydon kept his eye on his victim like any predator should if it expects to make a kill. He stepped out from his hiding spot and paused, making sure his quarry hadn't noticed something move out of the corner of its eye. Again, another step and pause. No response. Another two steps, his hands slowly bending up in front of him as he thought of the perfect spell to snare in his prey. He began to deliberate. Fast or slow kill? Quick and clean or quick and bloody? Just an easy slit or a vicious stabbing?

A loud, piercing scream had made Graydon return to reality. He had turned his attention away from his catch for only just a moment. A great mistake. A white, orb light blinded the Dark Magician. He felt his body accelerate, flying back into the cutting brambles and branches of a tall bush. His first thought was to regain himself but found he was stuck to the hedge, for it had come to life and bound him up to itself.

Graydon hissed and spat curses at his prey for outsmarting him.

The catch that got away spoke. "Silence yourself!" She ordered, approaching the Magician who was dangling in the air, restrained by rough, tight boughs of the hedge. "I sensed you the whole time, Graydon. Did you honestly think you could just sneak up on the Empress as if she was a dumb beast? Well, you stand corrected."

"Let all the horrors of the world fall upon you, spoiled witch! May your children die from a disease that turns their corrupt blood into dust and let the Lord of Hell call upon your ruthless husband tonight as he sleeps!" Graydon howled at her, angered that her majesty was already gloating of her greatness right in front of his face.

"I give you two options, follower of the Serpent. Either I let you free and you return to wherever you came from or I kill you right here. What is your decision?"

Her answer hit the Empress right in the face. An enormous, gross, wet glob of spit was shot straight at her, muddling her eyesight. It fizzled like boiling water as the disgusting saliva remained on her face before she took in the fact she was just spit at. A quick motion of her sleeve wiped off the demeaning gesture. The amber in her irises began to boil and swirl like a horrible cauldron of gold brew.

"Death it is then." She restated, confirming Graydon's answer.

"Yes." He answered quietly, his voice coming from the shadow of the hood he wore. Anveena could not see the malicious look in his eyes. As she spoke, his foot was able to slip out of the hold of one of the branches, the Empress' magic hadn't noticed the sneaky move. "For _you_!"

He pulled his weight back, generating enough momentum and force to kick his free leg up. He hit Anveena square in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. Her spell dissipated instantly and the Dark Magician was free.

His clammy, white hands violently grabbed the golden locks of her Majesty's hair, pulling ruthlessly even when she screamed for him to stop. "I will show you how to fear the Darkness, Empress Anveena." He whispered into her ear.

"And I will show you how to fear _me_." she threw her hand out until she was able to feel his bony chest. Graydon was thrown back again, plunging into the freezing cold water of the fountain. He felt a horrible pain inside his rib cage, a scorching, burning feeling like is heart had caught fire and the blaze was burning him from the inside out.

The Dark Magician howled in pain, violently convulsing in the water like a dying fish. Anveena watched, waiting for the intruder to fall to his awaiting death.

_Dark! My Magi, My lord. Help me! _Graydon cried in his thoughts to his master. There was no response. The follower of the snake was on his own, Dark was not going to attend to him like an overprotective parent. It was at that realization the Dark Magician shook away his panic and said a spell that rid the pain from his chest. A cold sensation came over the burned organs, resetting them to their original, healthy state.

Graydon leapt out of the water and faced the Empress again, she stood unmoved and focused a few feet away. Her gold eyes always on him.

The Dark Magician moved first. His cloak fell as if he had just used a vanishing spell. However, something had caught the cloth midway into its drop, a large, hunched figure judging by the silhouette made by the black shroud. A low growling sound rippled as a thin, long muzzle popped out from under Graydon's cloak. It's face, then front legs, and the whole rest appeared in the moonlight. A grey beast, the size of an Alsatian with great white teeth and deep brown eyes. Wolf.

The beast charged, snarling madly as drool foamed from the blackened gums of his teeth. His opponent did not move, she stood as tall and fearless as she was before. He grinned in delight seeing she wasn't fleeing in fear. The Empress must have truly been stupid, she must have wanted to kill herself. Once the wolf was close enough, he squat down onto his back paws and then pounced into the air towards her majesty. His mouth gaping open now, in moments about to bite and strangle his opponent's beautiful thin neck.

Graydon felt the earth back on his paws as he landed. In disbelief, he turned back, thinking to see the back of Anveena. There was no one there. She had vanished, disappeared. The easiest trick known to harvesters of magic and Graydon fell for it.

_Find her. _Dark's threatening voice came into his head. _You must get to her before she gets to the Emperor. _

The Empress ran through the castle halls, her slippers clicking quietly on the marble floors. Her fright and anxiousness made her forgetful of where she was going. _Kalecgos!_ She thought multiple times over, trying to find the enormous, double doors that led to the Emperor's chambers. _Must get to Kalec._ Sweat was dripping down her forehead into her eyes. She panted hard and unevenly. The shadows of night that lingered in the halls heightened her paranoia; even with the guide of the lighted chandeliers Anveena felt she was running blindly through a never-ending maze, there was no way out. No way out.

She noticed a huge gap of moonlight coming up around the bend of the hallway. A full wall of the hall was panes of stained glass windows, each one showing the image of one of the Magi, the Emperors, or their heirs. She was nearing the council room, if she continued this route she could lock herself in there and then clear her mind to think of what to do next. She wasted no time bickering with her mind about it, the Empress was now functioning on pure impulse. _Save yourself now, worry of what to do later. _

The unexpected explosion of the window just in front of her made Anveena halt dead in her tracks. The red, blue, yellow, green shards of glass went flying into the air; the moon's rays giving them one last glisten before they shattered on the floor and perished. The Empress covered her ears as the bombarding continued. It went on until all the panes were broken and a sea of glass engrossed the floor around her Majesty's feet.

Silence now. Instinct kicked in again and it sent the Empress running over the glass pieces on the floor, her footing cautious to not step on a sharp edge of a shard. She neared the end of the river of broken panes when something had unsuspectingly grabbed her from one of the open windows.

A rush of pain made her scrunch her face up in restraint when she felt herself hit the floor. Her arms, her back, even her neck were all cut from the shards scattered on the ground. Her head throbbed, probably from the force of slamming into the floor but it didn't seem any glass had cut her there.

The Dark Magician stood over Anveena. Her beautiful face twisted in worry and agony, it was a look Graydon couldn't help but smile at. Finally, the Empress looked like a true human; vulnerable and powerless. Her regal air had all but dissolved and she stared into his eyes.

"Come now, Anveena, you'll have to do much better than that." He snickered as his form began to change again.

The Empress heaved herself up, despite how much it hurt. Hastily, she mumbled a healing spell to herself. The blood clotted and then the cuts faded all together. As she looked back up to Graydon she froze. Fear itself lingered around her and a nightmare come to life was standing before her. Something she had never seen before but something that could only be created by Hell's king himself.

This monster stood amongst a cloud of smoke that smelled like rotting corpses. It had the body of a man but it's face was replaced with the head of a bird of prey. Oily, black feathers were plastered to its face and body. It's beak long and curved at the end and then a pair of huge eyes, like that of an owl's, that were like the color of hot lava that ringed the entire kingdom of Hell. The creature had four, bony, elongated arms. All five fingers were replaced with sharp, black talons; so sharp they could cut a block of steel in half.

The thing rose it's head up and gave a piercing screech like that of its bird-like appearance. Anveena cupped her ears and shut her eyes. Graydon must have been mad to dare take the form of a dweller of Hell.

The creature was renowned in many stories of the followers of Dark. It was considered the most cold-blooded being in all the Realms. It was a minion of the Lord of Hell, which meant its diet retained to the greatest piece of creation the Nameless Emperor gave birth to. It only ate man's blood; both magically gifted and not. It only acted on torture and torment. It will kill someone for no reason. It had no thoughts, no reason; only instinct, and that single instinct was to kill.

It spoke the tongue of its home country, a language Anveena was proud she wasn't fluent in. Its first arm rose high above its head, just barley touching the arched ceiling. The Empress watched the huge talons, saw them speeding towards her. She spun herself away of the demon's attack, hearing the painful sound of its claws digging into the hard floor. It jerked fiercely, trying to free its arm. The creature hadn't realized the marble floor had molded around its hand. It was trapped.

The monster squawked in frustration, its bird eye at times glancing over towards the Empress to make sure its prey hadn't gotten away. It continued to try and pull its arm free but finding the struggle to be a failure. Its huge bird eye focused on Anveena again. This was of her doing. She outsmarted it, and now she was too dumbstruck to flee for her life. Oh, once its hand was free she would regret not running away when she had the chance!

That time came quickly. A bolt of gold was approaching the creature, only making itself visible when it came into beams of the outside light and then hid again in the shadows of the walls. It moved at incredible speed and when it was on top of the demon, it struck the creature with unbelievable force. Whatever had came at the demon now had it against the ground, pinning four arms out of seven. The bird-monster could just see its eighth arm still cemented into the floor, a puddle of murky, soiled blood dripping from the frayed flesh on the end of its limb. It dangled without life but still stood straight up as if it hadn't realized it was torn off from the rest of its previous body.

"Aslan!" The Empress muttered in disbelief, seeing the Lion standing over the devilish creature with such fearlessness in his face that he looked like one of the holy warrior angels themselves slaying the creature.

"Begone, monster!" The Prince snarled as he pressed his paws harder on the demon's arms to stop its struggling. "And take your unlawful business with you, in the name of Jesu, and the Great-Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea!"

"It's far too late for that." It replied in the language the Prince and his mother could understand. Aslan stared into the horrible eyes of the bird-demon. Its eyes burned like the flames of hell, it had the look of the Lord of Hell himself in them. They showed him all the evil in the world; everything he had ever known to be wrong, all that stained the goodness of life with unholy, evil motives. He could feel the trace of coldness tinge the air, gusts of winds blowing at him mercilessly. The smell of rotting corpses charred his nose. Flames danced around him, people screaming, spitting, cursing! Blood being thrown into the air in joyous celebration. What the great cat saw was scarred in his memory for all of time. The monster's eye who allowed him to see this evil also lived on in his mind, evoking a sense of fright and nervousness every time the slightest thought of the creature crossed his thoughts.

The monster reached out his free arm towards the Lion. It was able to scratch him, leaving five red streaks of blood right across his shoulder. The great cat pulled back his grip, unintentionally allowing the demon to move once more. It towered over the great cat, its shadow draping Aslan's form in darkness. The Lion hunched down low onto his paws, his huge eyes watching the demon bird as it raised one of its many arms.

The lunge was too slow for the Lion. The Prince pounced forward well out of the way of a red spark of magic that shot out from the middle of the monster's hand. The Lion rammed himself into the chest of the demon. It fell back; not realizing a spell was put on the carpet of glass behind it to make the pieces raise their blades up like quills on a fighting porcupine.

The soft sound of choking stifled through the creature's sharp beak. Its blood seeping out and staining the colored glass that were lodged deep into the monster's coarse skin.

"You missed." Aslan panted, pressing his paw onto his opponent's body, causing the shards to slice farther into the demon, making it squeal. The Lion curled his lips back to show his white canines, ready to give the final blow.

The demon-bird chirped its final words in an exhausting whisper, its large eyes glowing with triumph.

"I missed _you_."

The great cat had paused and took in what this creature said. It was then that Aslan's eyes grew larger than they ever were as his regal face turned back to where the Empress was originally sitting.

The petrified roar from the Prince made the monster chuckle in pleasure. _Well done, Graydon. _Dark's words hissed proudly in the Dark Magician's thoughts. The monster began to slowly disintegrate, vanishing in the shadows of what would soon become the place of death. Graydon was gone, returned to wherever he came from and left no remains of his presence on the floor. _Well done._

"Mother!" The great cat called in anxiety as he padded up to the Empress with incredible haste. The bird-demon's magic was cast upon her. She was thrown off into a corner away from the sea of broken glass, huddled within herself like she was outside in the middle of winter. Aslan continued calling out to Anveena until he had finally gotten a response.

"Aslan." The Empress mumbled weakly. She opened herself up, revealing a long, red stain on her white robe.

"You're hurt!" He exclaimed in fright, seeing that the blood was begging to seep slowly into the cracks in the marble floor. "Mother, hold still I can reverse this."

The Lion nudged his muzzle to the gash but felt her hand push it away in protest. "No, Aslan." She said solemnly, her hand gently stroking his now red nose. "This is what was meant to happen."

"No!" The Prince snarled in a mix of upset and frustration. "Mother please, do not speak such words! I will not let you die not like this."

"I know what I am doing, son." She said calmly, her hand now running through his mane in the way only a mother would- to soothe her frightened child. "You have to trust me for this must be done."

"Mother," Aslan whispered as he curled up beside her, his face next to hers. The huge, sparkling lion tears rolling off his long nose. The Empress looked into her eldest son's liquid gold eyes, _her_ eyes.

"Shh," She hushed soothingly as her hands wiped his large drops of tears away. "Courage, my beloved Aslan, courage. Be the Prince that your father and I raised you to be. Promise me you will not avert from your path, my Second Jesu."

"Of course." He answered, nudging her cheek.

"And Aslan?"

"Mother?"

"The dream..."

"What dream?"

"_Your_ dream."

"Yes, what about it?"

"Promise me you will see it through?" The Empress requested, struggling to keep her voice just at a whisper. The Lion felt her touch becoming colder against his warm fur. "It was always such a beautiful dream to me, my dear, such a-." Her eyes began to flutter as she strived to allow time to keep her away from the Shadows for just a few moments longer.

"Yes! Yes! I will." The Lion quickly responded, thinking if he answered her fast enough that her life would be spared. "I will create it, please, Mother, do not leave me just yet.''

"I love you, my darling." Anveena smiled, her eyes beginning to look filmy. "Be proud of what you are for it was what you always were-even when you didn't actually look it. Tell Stelan and your Father that I love them both as well."

Aslan found himself lost for words staring into his conceiver's pale face. His wet tears stained and matted the fur around his eyes.

"I will. I love you, Mother. I can never thank you enough for everything you had ever done for me. Mum-" Aslan felt if he said anymore he would be able to control himself. Instead, he pressed his body closer to her own, not caring when he felt the hot liquid blood splash at his paws. He laid his great head beside hers, quietly breathing into her own golden mane. "I will not leave you tonight."

There was no answer from the Empress.

Hours and hours seemed to go by in this dead calm, Aslan barely noticing the body of Anveena slowly becoming colder and colder. There was no sound except the quiet weeping of the Lion as he kept vigil of his mother. He placed a heavy paw over her shoulder and hugged his conceiver one last time. The sorrow that hung in the air is something that simply cannot be written in words but felt for ourselves. This was how our Lion felt now. There was nothing more he felt he could do except watch over his dying mother, just as she did two times before as he stood on the verge of death.

Eventually, the silence and loneliness had lulled the great cat to sleep. Morning's light appeared silently and slowly to the sleeping isle, awakening Mohthelieum with the echoes of a mourning Great Emperor and his youngest son as they were the first to find the Prince huddled beside the dead Empress Anveena in a pool of her blood. The very same blood that ringed about Aslan's great muzzle where shining tears were still spilling out from his exhausted and heartbroken golden eyes.

**A/N: Anyone want to guess what 'Madi Ao' means? **

**-Second to last paragraph has descriptions found in **_**The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe**_**. Most of that paragraph is C.S. Lewis' with a few alterations of my own. Thank you for reading and don't forget to review! **


	37. Silver Sea

It was sad time. Not just in one place like most occurrences, but everywhere. The tear-jerking mood was thick in the air like fog after a cold rainfall. _Everyone_ had heard the news; even peasants and children from the farthest realms knew and were in mourning. All grieved for the Family of Mohthelieum as they suffered yet again another deep blow.

The island had doubled, tripled, in population size for the funeral of the murdered Empress Anveena. The residents of her home country where she grew up, the representatives, and her closest friends (who were in the hundreds) were just some of those who came to be present before she became one with the earth.

The funeral was held on castle grounds, near the eastern shore of the endless Sea. Thousands of seats were set up, all in long, neat rows facing the closed coffin. It was gilded because of her class, wooden for her natural personality, a jewel incrusted cross upon the lid in reminder of her life duty. The most beautiful coffin for only the most beautiful of people.

The assigned seats filled with no hassle, everything ran efficiently. The Emperor's council were seated second closest to the coffin. The closest was the dead Empress' family, which consisted of three men: (all other relatives were deceased for she had lived well into her prime years. But not surpassing them.) her widowed Emperor and the motherless princes.

Most of the assembly was in white, according to old Deep Magic traditions. Ancient Magicians mourned in grey. No Dark Magicians were present. They were celebrating in black.

The sun had slowly made its way to the west as the service was beginning to reach its end. The Great Emperor had the final words, a custom that had never occurred for a millennia (for usually it was the Empress who was still alive when her husband gone to sit with the Nameless Emperor). Prince Aslan and Prince Stelan looked on at their father seeing the grave stare in his jade eyes. The Lion knew he was more than what sad could describe as an emotion. Kalecgos had lost his wife and friend of so many years, his only Empress and the only one he will ever have. Sad could not even lightly touch the surface of how his Majesty felt.

"My beloved friends," the Emperor began slowly, his solemn jade eyes running over the crowd. "There are times when words simply cannot describe the anguish, anger or joy one feels. This day, I stand before thee feeling as if this is all a nightmare, that none of this is occurring and that I will wake up and the first thing I will see is the face of my beautiful Empress." Kalecgos paused for a moment to calm himself before continuing, his listeners waiting with the utmost patience. "Yet, I find I will never wake up. I will never see Anveena again, for this nightmare has become reality. The Empress' death is not only a loss for myself or my sons. No. It is a loss for Mohthelieum, for the Realms, for every single one of thee who sits here now, who was graced with meeting Anveena and knows the touch she leaves on many persons. Empress Anveena was the most gorgeous woman I had ever met, and not simply because of her renowned beauty. She showed compassion for all, even to her enemies. She respected and loved her people, willing to make any sacrifices to keep them safe. A devoted child of the Nameless Emperor who had faith enough for every single person living in the castle. Her temper: a myth, and her siding with violence, a greater myth still. She was a mother." Kalecgos glanced towards where his sons were seated. Aslan's face was as somber and grave as the Emperor's. The water layering Stelan's eyes was ready to pour out at any moment. Lady Helen, who was sitting beside the youngest prince, comfortingly stroked his arm.

"Anveena loved our sons with a passion that could almost be as equal as Jesu's own great Mother. If you asked either of the Princes they shall tell you the same. She raised her children well, loved them unconditionally, and cared for them beyond the call of maternal instinct. Today, we mourn the death of an extraordinary woman and friend who did not deserve to die the way she had."

There was a disturbance in the crowd. Many looked at each other in question, not fully understanding what their Emperor was talking about.

"I was requested not to tell all of thee how our beloved Empress Anveena passed. However, not telling you and creating a lie to cover up the conspiracy would be a sin, an insult to her memory!" There was a sudden crash of a wave from the nearby shore. The ocean had been still all day.

The night began to play out all over again. The Lion saw her pale, beautiful face. He heard her sweet voice telling him she loved him. He felt the sticky, red blood under his paws. The Prince tensed up and hunched over, feeling his fur bristle. He was going to be sick.

"Aslan," Zanze's concerned whisper rang in his ear. "Do you need to leave?" Her expression was almost as ill as Aslan's own. Zanze was Anveena's closest friend, surely she had to be feeling the same pain as he was.

"No," He replied, relaxing his face after the thought of Anveena's blood had disappeared. "I shall be fine." The dark woman patted the long, golden back of the Lion. He did not protest her act of comfort.

Kalecgos had explained to the crowd The Empress had been assassinated by a follower of Dark and that the eldest Prince was found huddled beside her corpse the next morning. Another horrible crash of a wave. Aslan could feel the change in mood of the crowd after hearing his father explain this. It had shifted from sorrow to spite.

''She was murdered by a cold blooded monster. We have left Dark's torments off for far too long. The serpent has hurt us for the last time! Tomorrow commences the mission to extract Dark from his quarantine, and I can assure you that he will _not_ receive any sympathy. The moment that vermin is placed inside my castle walls he shall sleighed where he stands!" Another wave rammed into the beach, making a sound of rippling thunder, startling many who were so focused on the Emperor's speech.

Aslan's stomach began to knot up again, but not in sickness but in insult. His father had the gall to say the serpent's name out loud, the sole reason Anveena lay dead in the sealed coffin, and now, he was rallying the people? _Not telling you would be an insult to her memory. _The Lion repeated in his thoughts as he saw the irate faces seated around him. _This_ is _an insult to her memory!_ His claws unsheathed and sliced into the dirt, his temper bottled up for the sake of reverence. The Emperor concluded with some final words, the crowd responded with soft, melancholy clapping. Prince Aslan half expected a riot.

The night settled in the dwindling afternoon sky, a procession of lights started the march towards the Sea. Witnesses of the funeral were all still there, each carrying a white blossoming lily delicately in one hand and grasping a lantern in the other. Emperor Kalecgos took lead down to the shore, as any such noble a man must do. The ocean's erratic behavior from earlier had gone away and was as still as water in a goblet. The stars were dim that night due to the moon's usually bright ambience. Its light beaming on the procession like a spotlight as if watching from a distance a final farewell to the Empress Anveena.

The crowd lined along the ocean drenched sand, waiting, thinking, silent all the while. Zanze stayed on the ridge which bordered the shore from the castle grounds, standing above the crowd. She began the ceremony with a prayer.

"O'ever powerful Nameless Emperor, thou who gives us life, love and spirit, you have called one of your beloved children home with you. We pray that her soul remains in peace with you for all eternity, that she guides us just as you have, and lives within us just as you do. Tonight, we offer our final farewell into your never-ending Sea. Where the memory of her shall always be floating, to make the water sweet and guide those lost soles home to their country in the utter east. We say her name...''

The congregation answered in many different ways. Some said ''friend!'', many others ''Empress Anveena!'', two sons ''mother!'', and only one said nothing. Noiseless tears trickled from his eyes and landed on the lily in his hand, making the petals shake with every small drop that pelted down.

"And we raise her up to you, Our Great Emperor! In your name, Anema."

All responded with the same word of the Deep Magic. ''Anema. "

Thus the actual ceremony started. One by one, the crowd set a blossoming lily into the ocean. The white petals glistened under the moon's vigilant face and drifted out into the sea with silence and grace. No one spoke as this final ritual continued. It was a time of awareness, farewell, a time of reaching everlasting peace...which Mohthelieum was in desperate need of having.

_The sea is filled with them_. Charon murmured in his thoughts to the Lion beside him.

The hundreds of thousands of the lilies had bound together far off in the sweet water, making their own Silver Sea on the horizon from north to south, as far as any eye could see. The flowers moved with the flow of the ocean, becoming their own smooth, white waves. These lilies would eventually join the other hundreds from other Emperors' and Empress' deaths that still floated somewhere in this endless Sea.

_Mother,_ Aslan prayed solemnly, the white sea milky in his eyes. _Tell me you are somewhere safe now, far from the sin that has shadowed our once beloved and peaceful home of Mohthelieum. Tell me I have not lost you even now when you are not visibly here. Tell me there is an end to this all just beyond the horizon. _

_ I will be watching you, always. _The great cat heard the sweet voice echo softly in his ears, the voice haunting like ghost. For a moment his head rose high, his lips bent in a smile, even his tail began to twitch in joy.

_Mother? Please, is there an end coming? Will the mission be successful?_

He waited patiently for his Empress to respond. None came. Her voice was silenced. She was gone. The only sound now was that of the quiet crash of waves meeting the shore, just inches away from his velvet paws.

The day had finally concluded. The visitors departed, the court members had retired to their beds, and castle residents had just finished their farewells and thank yous to everyone who attending the funeral for the Empress.

Stelan and Aslan were heading to their own rooms for the night. No one accompanied them, they were alone for the first time all day. Both brothers where exhausted for the almost full hour spent hearing attendants of the funeral give their condolences and the full day dedicated to their mother's untimely passing.

''I cannot wait to hear that snake's dying cries tomorrow." Stelan said with determination, though his eyes were still wet with grief.

"That is enough of that." Aslan replied with a growl in his deep voice, recalling Kalecgos' rallying from earlier. "It is terrible enough that monster's name being mentioned today."

"Terrible?" Stelan repeated, sounding offended. "Father was promising peace, how is _that_ terrible?"

"Promising peace by promising death!" The Lion answered in Stelan's same high-strung voice. "It was an insult to our mother to swear vengeance at the foot of her coffin!"

"You would be the one to say that." Stelan growled quietly under his breath.

The Lion halted and turned his great head to his brother. "Excuse me?" Aslan asked, the calm in his voice covering a building rage.

''This is_ your_ fault!" The younger prince cried, pointing an accusing finger at his sibling. "You could have stopped that monster!"

Stelan watched as the cat's eyes widened as he stood stiff in shock.

It was happening again. The feeling of Anveena's gaping wound against his nose and her hand pushing him away. The coldest stroke the Empress had ever given her eldest babe. "No, Aslan, this is what was meant to happen."

The Prince's amber gaze was murky with tears. "You think I killed my own mother?" he gasped, every word he said was stated with great emphasis and great pain.

"Everyone in the castle is talking about it." The younger prince responded with his arms crossed over his chest, proud to tell his brother this. ''Father told me he no longer wants you to go on the mission because of it."

Aslan remained silent. How could his own brother and father accuse him of such a heinous crime? Even to the point of denouncing his birth purpose? Did they not know that the Lion would never do such a thing to the woman who stood by his side for all his life?

"Charon is going in your place." Stelan continued.

"What are these words coming out of your mouth, brother?" the Prince asked, sounding as upset as ever. "Stop now, I beg you! Do you not know what you say?"

"I think it is you who does not know what you say!" the younger prince exclaimed. "All these years, you were always in the spotlight because you were dubbed the Second Jesu! Me? I was just the Second Jesu's sibling. No one cared about me. No one ever thought me to have as great of potential as you did. You were always better, loved greater, adored more. I deserve my chance to shine, Aslan, and I will do that tomorrow when I bring back that Belly Crawler's head to Mohthelieum instead of you."

"You do not realize what you are up against." The Lion said gently, now brushing off Stelan's accusations of murder and focusing on the boy's feeling of unimportance. "You cannot fight him alone, Stelan."

"I will, and I can. You've had far too many chances. Its my turn now, brother." with that, the boy left the beast's side, walking quickly down the hall to his quarters.

**A/N: Ugh, this really should have been out earlier. Sorry, everyone. I had a HUGE research paper for English due and it took up most of my time for the past two months and half of this one. I apologize if it wasn't the chapter you expected but I REALLY have to move on with the rest of the story. Thank you for reading! **


	38. The Bell and the Stand Pt 1

The Great Emperor Kalecgos and the gentle Zanze gazed upon the warriors as they crossed the bridge, leaving the safe castle grounds. A good hundred men, creatures and beasts. Powerful minotaurs from Saladazia, an enormous blue dragon from the Dragon Tribe of Ice, strong, brave centaurs from many a-country and then the rest were magically gifted men and women chosen to represent their worlds in this stand against Dark.

Stelan and Charon were leading, since they knew the way to the Wood Between the Worlds best. The young prince sat in his saddle taller than he ever had, stuck his chin up farther than he ever had, and his green eyes shined with a pride that was embarrassing to anyone who knew him personally. Charon watched the boy.

It was not his own duty to do this, it was someone else's. The coal-haired knight bowed his head in thought, thinking of the worst. He did not want to be responsible for bringing the news of yet another death to the already mourning family, let alone news of both himself and the younger prince dying. People were going to be killed. It had to be inevitable, even if there were only two souls left in the dying, barren wasteland of what used to be Charn...those two souls were excellent harvesters of the Dark Magic. All the warriors would have to be cunning, quick, and unrelenting.

Charon turned back to the castle for a moment, gazing upon the pure white brick once more. The sun hit was hitting the castle in that way where the island appeared to have two suns instead of one. He took it in, just in case this was the last time he may see it.

"My Zanze," The Emperor stated calmly to the dark woman beside him. "You look ill."

"I am, Your Majesty," She said weakly, sounding like her stomach was about to give way. "Ill with sorrow. This is not fair, that brave knight should not be the one going to Charn with Stelan. You know this as much as I do."

"Peace, Zanze," Kalecgos replied with a gentle hand gesture to silence her. "All will be well, my dear. There is hope yet, Dark shall be slain."

"How? Our only hope for Dark's death is locked in his room upon your command because of filthy gossip!" Zanze snapped, though keeping her voice low, in fear of insulting Kalecgos.

"I know Aslan did not do such a thing." The Emperor replied slowly as he recollected from yesterday when the rumor first began to spread. "It was all of Dark's doing."

"Then why have him here," She asked, then added with a hand extended to the distant band of warriors. "When he should be out _there_?"

The Emperor never answered the question. He only looked at the dark woman with his wise, jade eyes. There was some secret knowledge in them, Zanze could feel it. He was hiding something from her, from everyone. "Have faith, dearest Zanze," He started up again, turning back to the castle. "Now, if you will excuse me I shall go and pray with Anveena."

The dark woman was silent as Kalecgos left her presence. If she wasn't so understanding of his sorrow, she would have accused him of madness. Oh, what burden has been brought to Mohthelieum! Zanze felt her eyes moisten. She began to rub them to send the tears away. Anveena's presence that use to be thick in the Mohthelieum air had disappeared, it was so hard to breathe here without her almost heavenly presence. Stelan and Aslan were the next closest thing to her, and Stelan was already showing signs that his mother's death was changing his behavior. The great cat- Zanze doubted he would ever recover from what he experienced that night. She set her eyes foreword again, seeing that the image of those honorable souls had already left her sight. _Go with them Anveena._ the dark woman prayed silently as she used her finger to make the cross of the Deep Magic. _Protect them from the darkness that is rushing upon them. _

''Here we are." Stelan proclaimed, pulling the reigns of his horse; the Talking Beast's hoofs barely an inch from the magic pool.

The water was still polluted with silt and dirt as it was a month ago. However, the murkiness had settled at the bottom, at least now the pool looked like a decent pond.

"Only two souls left in that world." grunted a minotaur in a wandering voice, his large, dark eyes on the entrance to Charn.

"And they are the only two souls in the world worth being a threat." added a woman, taking the minotaur's shoulder. Charon saw her.

Her burnt-colored hair was pulled back into a long ponytail. Her skin pale and with out imperfection, almost looking pure white in the beaming sunlight that shone through the trees. Her cheekbones were pudgy on her round face, but it a very attractive way. She wore battle markings. Six circles, three above her brows and three just below her eyes. Her _eyes_! The coal-haired knight had never seen a more unique pair. They were violet.

Her name was Atthia. He remembered hearing her name said in the blessing when they were about to leave Mohthelieum.

''Courage, my dear, courage.'' said the Ice Dragon comfortingly, his voice deep but raspy with age. ''We were called for a reason, friends. The best of the best, the chosen few to end the reign of Dark. We would not be here now ready to destroy the worst vermin since the dawn of time if we did not show potential, would we?'' Many murmured in agreement. ''We have come far, but now our journey lies beyond.''

The coal-haired knight watched the great beast as he encouraged the others. His scales were a worn and calloused pale blue, probably from picking off more fights than he could chew. His wings carefully tucked into his sides, the thin skin white like the terrain the dragon was born in. A thick, white mane grew out from his neck, fur as thick as a polar bear's! He also had a beard which was neatly braided for the occasion. Two large horns curved out from the sides of his head, they were made of pure ivory, clean and sharp. The only feature of the animal that wasn't damaged or worn in any way.

''The great dragon speaks truth.'' Stelan began, entering the conversation. ''Your name, my friend?''

''Would you prefer it in my language or yours, your majesty?'' It asked, a slight tone of cheekiness in its hoarse voice.

Stelan bent his brows. ''I know both dialects.'' The prince wasn't familiar with the mighty attitude of Northern Dragons.

''Isbjørn.'' The Dragon stated curtly. ''The ice bear.''

The prince nodded in respect. ''As Isbjørn said, we were chosen for a reason. All of you, dubbed the strongest warriors in your lands! Stand by that title. Even now, when we face the great Serpent and his tall shadow of a queen. Do not allow your personal feelings to overrun your common sense. Dark will manipulate us in every way he can, and our only defense is not to give in to it. Remember your purpose, remember what we are fighting for. For peace, for an end to the darkness. I ask you now, are you ready for what awaits you beyond this portal, my men and women?''

All called out in agreement. It was only the dragon who bowed his head lowly to Stelan, his motivation was humble. He was far too old and far too tattered from battles to show the same excitement as the youths around him.

''Now,'' The prince ordered, pointing the tip of his sword to the pool. ''Follow me, brave, noble warriors! One by one, jump into the pool. Once you are in the world stay where you are until everyone has entered. Once we are all inside the world of Charn we shall make plans. Come, hurry we mustn't waste any time.''

Quickly the assembly lined up. Charon stood on the side, watching everyone carefully, making sure all entered safely. He would be last to go.

Stelan was first to enter, then the rest followed. One after the other, all prepared yet still unprepared for what waited there for them beyond the portal.

The Ice Dragon and Charon were the last ones left in the Wood.

The coal-haired squire gazed upon the old, large warrior's face. It was covered with battle scars.

Under his white eyes, deep holes from a terrible bite. His forehead showed a distinct scar from a burn and the right side of his lip was nearly gone. The dragon's sharp, pure white teeth were visible due to the missing side of the lip. Some dragon must have gotten the best of him and tore his lip off with just the strike of a claw.

''You stare at my scars, young one?'' Isbjørn asked Charon. The knight watched in astonishment as he saw those teeth moving and no lips to conceal them.

''Pardon me,'' The knight apologized with a shake of the head. ''I meant no offense in it. I just have never seen-.''

''You live where there's peace, child.'' It stated calmly, not sounding upset at all. ''I live in a cold, dark world where you must fight for everything. I was born into it more than a hundred years ago, obliviously there was no way I would get out of it without getting scathed.''

''I have been in battles before!'' The knight snapped, thinking the dragon assumed he had never seen the picture of war.

''And thank Jesu you got out of them with all of you intact. I can assure you, one day, that will not be the case my young knight. There will be that one battle that'll leave a mark on you. Hope that it isn't _this_ one, my friend.'' Isbjørn paused and stared into the pale blue eyes of Sir Charon.

The knight saw something quickly as the dragon blinked. A flash of brown, or a color of the sort, in its eyes. Charon shook his head and blinked a few times to be sure he wasn't imagining things. When he looked back, those large dragon eyes were as white as ever.

''Go on ahead then, Sir Charon.'' It directed with the sway of a long claw. ''I shall be behind you.''

The knight did as the old creature asked. He jumped in and was pulled under hard and swiftly, like the current from a troubled ocean was attempting to drown him. The silt and dirt blinded him. The entire ride to Charn was black. There was no sound except the rushing water as it pulled him down farther and farther. Then there was sunlight. The tunnel was ending, they were almost there! With a hard landing, Charon found himself in Charn. Well, what was left of it.

''Are you alright?" He heard someone say just above him. It was Atthia, she had him by the shoulders holding him steady.

''Erm,'' He stammered, feeling his cheeks get hot. ''Yes, yes I am. Thank you for asking.''

''I'm alright too, you know.'' Charon's stallion snorted as it heaved itself up onto its thin, lean legs. ''But don't mind the talking animal, I'll manage.''

''Come now, Donovan.'' The knight sighed taking his horse's reigns. ''You matter just as much as any other member in the group.''

''Whoa.'' A minotaur murmured staring off into the distance. Suddenly, everyone's attention was focused on the setting around them.

It was then Charon realized how loud the minotaur sounded despite the creature was only whispering. There was silence in the air. Pure silence. The earth was brown with hard, sterile dirt and yellow with dead stalks of wheat. The sky, cloudy and almost the same color as the ground blow it. Ahead of them was the city and castle of Charn. It looked no greater than a pile of rubble. No more beautiful than a mountain of desert sand. The castle was the only tall structure standing, its spires still noticeable as they just barely reached the clouds. It's dark brick almost looked black against the cloudy sky. Nothing stood in there way to get there. They saw the direct stone path leading right into the city. They saw the last remnants of farms and plantations were slaves worked. They saw skeletons of soldiers across the path, all still in battle armor. Not a single living soul in sight.

"So many innocent lives sacrificed for the pride of one.'' The voice of the dragon stated as he walked up to the group of dumbfounded warriors. ''So many.'' His white eyes were sad, one could even say he looked as if he were going to cry.

''Stelan,'' Charon called to the prince. ''Your plan?''

''We rest here for the night. Plan the siege out and tomorrow we strike.'' Stelan ordered. No one disobeyed. Within an hour, everyone had set up tents. Within another couple hours, the mission was plotted out.

''What if Dark already knows we're here?'' Charon asked Stelan once everyone had left the prince's tent.

''He would have greeted us when we got here if that were the case.'' the boy replied, seating himself in a comfortable arm chair.

''That's not in his nature, Stel.'' Charon protested. ''Dark plays games, he wants us to think he doesn't know we are here. I know he has something planned for tomorrow. And no matter what you think he will ruin our strategy somehow. There is a surprise waiting for us at the gates of Charn, one that will be much harder to prepare for than we can imagine. Stelan, what happened to the plans Aslan had ready for this? Perhaps we can merge-.''

''No!'' Stelan exclaimed, rising from his chair and standing up to the knight. ''There were holes in his planning. He didn't complete it.''

''He told me he did. He _showed_ me them.'' the knight remarked, sizing up the boy. ''This is not the time and place to be competing, Stelan. You have to lead them like a ruler, not like a jealous brother!''

''Shut up!'' Stelan cried out. ''My plans are as good as his are! You will do as I say, I am your prince. ''

''I will do as you say, when you start acting like a prince!'' Charon exclaimed with disgust. He left with no further comment and walked out into the dark of night. Thoughts still muddled his mind, now greater than usual. Tomorrow he would be facing Dark. Would he even have the courage to step one foot into that hellhole of a city again?

''Sir Charon?''

The knight turned at the sound of his name. It was Isbjørn, who was patiently waiting behind him. He looked to have been standing there for awhile, though Charon was positive he knew no one followed him after leaving Stelan's tent.

The dragon turned to the knight. ''With your permission, I ask to scout the castle this evening.''

''Stelan did not think scouts were necessary.'' Charon remarked with a bite of frustration. The dragon's request _was_ a good idea, but due to the prince's stubbornness anything that wasn't his idea was discarded-and the knight could not go against his prince.

''I see it in your eyes, boy.'' The dragon murmured to Charon, his white eyes unblinking. ''You doubt the prince's plans.''

''He was not originally the one to lead this mission. It was,'' The knight paused, picturing his friend, the Lion, pacing in his room. ''It was someone else.''

''The older brother.'' Isbjørn replied gravely. ''Prince Aslan?''

''Yes.'' Charon replied.

''Charon,'' It called the knight gently. The dragon's voice had suddenly changed. It was no longer old and hoarse but deep and rich. Charon _knew_ that tone and couldn't believe he was hearing it.

''Sir?'' The knight mumbled breathlessly, looking into Isbjørn's large, scarred face. He saw it again. The white eyes blinked into a different color. The color of amber.

''Aslan!'' Charon gasped, a smile creeping onto his face. ''How did you?''

''It's not worth the time explaining.'' Aslan answered, blinking again to return his eye color to white again. ''It is not Stelan's destiny to do this. It is mine, it has always been mine.''

''You have a plan then?'' Charon asked.

''I will scout tonight, stay the night close to the castle. Tomorrow I will enter Charn just before any of you arrive. I will deal Dark, you must convince Stelan to find Jadis first, then go after the Serpent. It will save the warriors much more energy to proceed that way.''

''Stelan won't listen to me.'' the knight told the Lion.

''I know he will not. I have seen it. He will realize his faults tomorrow. However, I want you to try anyways; convince the warriors to listen to you.''

''What do you mean Stelan will realize his faults tomorrow?''

''Stelan will be alright, Charon, do not fear. I must go now. If there is anything I see, I will return and inform you. If I do not return it will be safe to enter.''

The knight looked back up into the dragon's eyes. ''I'm glad you came, Aslan.'' Isbjørn nodded with a low growl of approval.

''Remember what I told you.'' the dragon cautioned as it spread its wings. The dragon shot into the air like an arrow, higher and higher into the night sky until its pale body was no longer visible beyond the murky clouds.

**A/N: Thank you for reading and don't forget to review!**


	39. Bell and Stand Pt 2

The next morning was as normal and dead as was all mornings Jadis woke up to nowadays. The silence of Charn made her shifting of the sheets sound like a charging army, her feet touching the tile floor like the sound of catapults launching, and her footsteps as she walked about the room like the unison cry of people dying at the sound of a word.

She didn't step out onto her dusty, crumbling balcony. Instead, she stayed in her stuffy room, letting another day in her life pass. What day was it? What month? What year? Time had been gone of her for so long she hardly noticed it go by at all. How it was robbing her of the worthless life she lived now.

The silence in her room drove her mad. The queen sat in her chair, her toes running through the dusty, knotted bear skit rug. Her mind thought nothing, for her mind was not her own. Dark controlled it now (even though Jadis did not know it) and since her parasite was not using her at the moment she could only think of nothing. Memories, ideas, beliefs, dreams all wiped out forever. They would only come alive if Dark needed them to fuel a fire in his host of a queen.

Today's morning had an unexpected turn from all other mornings. The serpent threw open the doors, making his presence known to the soul in the room.

''My lord?'' Jadis murmured with confusion, rising to walk to the serpent.

''I bring news of the worst taste,'' The snake hissed irritably, his scales scratching harshly against the marble floor. ''We have unexpected visitors and they do not come as friends.''

''Who?'' Jadis asked, now growing worried. From how the Lord of Darkness sounded, there were many of them and Jadis had no army of soldiers to fight. It was only her and Dark.

''Rebels. Those with the Emperor, they come to take Charn away from us. To kill us.'' Dark replied, coiling himself up on the arm of her chair. ''Aslan is with them. He leads them now.''

''What!'' the queen screeched, rising from her chair. She began to pace. The image came into her mind. That strong young man with a mane of gold drooling at the foot of a subservient blotch of earth. The fool.

''He dare come back? The fool , the fool! This is _my_ kingdom and he shall not take it from me that easily.''

''No, he will not.'' Dark chimed in as well, though much more calmer than she. ''We must hurry now, I can already feel his presence. He is not far from us and neither is his army. Go! To the highest spire, my queen! You take care of the others, I shall deal with the great beast.''

Jadis ran to do as ordered. She transformed her flimsy nightgown into shining silver chainmail, her skirts underneath black and arm bracelets that coiled around her arm like a snake. She could feel a pulse in her Dark Mark, the magic was flowing through her as the ecstatic rush of battle made her skin tingle. She felt powerful and had been waiting a long time to show her frightening potential again.

Charon rode his horse alongside Stelan's. The prince was quiet. The knight could tell past that high raised chin and puffed out chest that his jade eyes had the utmost terror in them. However, he could not scold the boy for his fear, for the knight himself felt it in his heart as well.

''Why did you say Isbjørn is not with us again?'' Stelan asked quietly, squeezing the reigns in his hands.

Charon sighed as he answered this question the fifth time this journey. Stelan had not realized he had been asking the same question over and over, but the knight calmly answered the prince for he wished to reassure himself too.

''He left late last night to scout Charn to find any clues of the whereabouts of Dark, so we can strike quickly and accurately. We stick with our agreement from earlier, correct Stelan? We take care of the queen first then use our full energy on Dark?''

''Yes, yes,'' Stelan hurried, sounding like he didn't feel like talking any further. There was a silence, the remaining spires of the ruined castle of Charn were in plain sight now. The entrance into the city was no more than perhaps a half mile away. The only audible sound around was the approaching band of warriors. The city was still, dead, and lifeless.

''You are sure that Isbjørn will not betray us? All the books I ever read claim dragons to be liars and cunning scaly foes.'' Stelan murmured with worry, his eyes glued to the distant battlefield.

Charon did not respond quickly, he thought back to last night. Seeing the dragon's eyes flash from white to gold. Aslan would never steer him wrong. Never. Though-what he said about Stelan realizing his mistake of pride-that did not sound very comforting. ''Not everything you read in those musty old books is always true, Stel.'' The knight responded with a fake optimistic voice, the last thing he wanted to do was alarm the only leader they had. Prince Stelan smiled, thinking Charon's acting to be honest comforting. The knight managed to produce a smile back, closed mouth of course.

_''Eeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh hhhhh!'' _

The high pitched screech made every muscle within the troop tense up and freeze. Everyone was still, looking around to see what made that noise.

''What _was_ that?!'' Atthia gasped, here eyes at the gates of Charn.

''It's an attack!'' Charon cried, his icy eyes stared straight at the source of the noise. Climbing high into the sky were seven flares of black, sinister looking smoke. They blocked the sun out at the peak of their fly, and then began to rocket straight down towards the warriors.

Stelan was just about to scream a command when the flares of darkness bombarded around them. The smoke rose up, suddenly becoming solid blockades and roofs, blocking out the sun and all chance of escape. There was no sound except for the heavy panting of uneasy warriors.

''Steady!'' Charon cried into the blackness, hoping the others would hear his words. ''Whatever this is, do not let it overtake you! Fight it off!''

Within moments of Charon's motivational order Stelan saw something appear from the blackness. The image was blurry, almost phantomlike as it slowly came closer to the prince.

''My Prince!'' A voice called gently, the reverberation making it sound like he was in a dream. The prince knew that voice. It was then he realized the image was of no one other than his beloved mother. She was in a dazzling gown, white and jewel incrusted. Her hair as gold and beautiful as it once was before, and upon her head an almost blinding halo. It was her spirit, her spirit here to guide him to light!

''Mother?'' The prince murmured quietly, his voice choked up and eyes watering. ''Is it truly you?''

''My Prince!'' She called again. Stelan realized now her beautiful gaze was not on him, but on something in the distance. Who could she be possibly calling to?

It was then another image came into view. It appeared beside Stelan walked towards Anveena. _Aslan?_ The prince thought with dismay.

The older prince was no longer a cat but a _human_!

''My beloved prince,'' Anveena said in her sweetest of voices, her arms extended to embrace Aslan. ''I am so proud of you, my _best_ son.''

The younger prince felt his heart stop. This couldn't be right, Anveena loved both of them equally! Yet, somewhere deep in the caverns of his mind he felt that what she was saying to this phantom of Aslan was...true.

''Mother, what of me? Are you not proud of me as well?'' The younger prince called to the ghost of his mother.

Anveena turned her head to the boy, her eyes wide in displeasure. She began walking towards Stelan, a strut he had never seen of hers before. Aslan stood aside, an evil smile bent on his lips; ready to watch the fun.

''You? How on earth could a mother be proud of _you_?'' She began, her voice so gentle yet stabbed Stelan's heart like a dagger. ''Aslan was the only child we wanted. He was perfect, he had a destiny that would uphold the family honor, then there was-you. You had no future like your brother. You were simply destined to be second-best, second-loved. You could never outweigh your brother, dear. He will always be better than you.''

''No!'' The furious prince cried, unsheathing his sword and pointing it to the illusions before him. ''You lie! You are not the spirit of my mother!''

''What's the matter Stelan?'' The boy heard the image of Aslan taunt, an unnatural evil smirk on his lips. ''Having struggles understanding Mother? Deny it all you want, but we _both_ know who is truly adored and loved the most!''

''Shut up!'' Stelan screamed, he pulled the reins of his horse, it charged forward towards the images. The stallion ran through them, the illusions instantly disappearing. Stelan suddenly found himself in sunlight, he was outside the walls made by the blackness. He looked back into that horrible fog, he heard his fellow soldiers crying ad yelling. He heard Charon, screaming in fear for the prince. Stelan held back, thinking all the while of whether to return back and save them or destroy Dark.

_''You were simply destined to be second-best, second-loved.''_ the words hissed in this thoughts, mocking him and building his rage.

''We have to go back!'' His horse whinnied, about to charge back to the dark mist.

''No.'' Stelan ordered, pulling the reins hard. ''Dark must be disposed of now. The others can save themselves.'' The horse did not disobey his master. He turned his hooves around and went charging into Charn.

Walking through Charn undetected was nearly impossible with everything crumbling and falling about. Not to mention, every shadow doubled the fear someone was watching. Aslan managed through this ordeal the whole night and it was about to become worse since he made it to the castle. He managed to get this far without so much as a sign Dark knew he was nearby. However, that terrified the Lion even more, because Dark _did_ know...the snake was simply just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Quickly, the Prince slunk down behind a chunk of a fallen building and transformed into a fly. He remained hiding for a few minutes going over what he had planned. _Sneak in. Wait for Stelan's charge. Attack Jadis from behind. Kill Dark once and for all._

He could feel Stelan coming closer. Stelan would hit the Western gate very soon. Aslan had to move quickly, he flew off into a second story window and swiftly headed towards the highest spire. A prayer to the Nameless Emperor mumbled through his head. _Forgive Stelan, for he knows not what he does. I wish nothing more but for his protection. Jesu, I promise you victory this time. _

"Dark!" The furious cry rang through the empty, soundless castle. "Face me you belly-crawler!"

_No._ Aslan silently screamed. _No! He wasn't supposed to make it past the gates! This wasn't for-"_

"Not everything that will happen always happens exactly." came a low hiss.

Aslan's heart stopped.

"A horse may suddenly travel slightly faster than it was predicted. A war might brake out faster because one person attacked prematurely."

The Prince felt an enormous force slam his frail body towards the ground. Just before he hit the marble floor, Aslan transfigured back into a lion. Dark's body began to coil around the Lion's great neck. "An Empress," He continued, staring into the Prince's amber eyes. "wakes up her son in the middle of the night and he comes to her rescue when he was never supposed to."

The Lion attempted to bite at the snake's neck, but Dark coiled up tighter and continued to talk. The Lion gagged as his windpipe slowly began to shut. " Isn't it just beautiful? For once, your plan goes awry. There is no one here to help you escape. It is just you and me this time."

With the little amount of energy left, Aslan raked his forepaws against Dark's scaly skin. He hit a vein, and the snake quickly wriggled off the Lion's neck. A rush of air blurred Aslan's focus.

Dark noticed seized the opportunity. He healed the vein and launched. In midair, he grew barbs from his tail and whipped the Lion down the narrow hall.

Aslan felt the blood oozing from his abdomen, stinging his burned skin. However, he rose to his feet and braced himself as the snake slithered swiftly towards him.

"Coward!" The younger prince came running up the stairs, feverishly searching for the snake.

Dark turned his attention to Stelan and quickly wrapped himself around the boy's feet, sending them both down the staircase.

"Stelan!" Aslan roared. He ran to the staircase. The pair bumped and rolled down the massive staircase and gained enough momentum to keep rolling and they rolled. The tangled bodies rolled straight out of huge hole in the wall. Then came a scream.

And then, a hard thud.

Adrenaline pumped vigorously through the Lion's veins. A massive storm brewed in his heart. An irate roar mixed with a wail was lumped in his throat. Anger blinded his senses. He snapped. Dark broke him. This was the only time, where it could be admitted, Aslan behaved completely on animal instincts.

All Aslan remembered from those few seconds of pure fury was leaping out of the hole, landing on all fours and running toward Dark. The snake was unconscious and did not react. Aslan's mighty paws pressed on the snake's skull.

The wailing roar finally exploded out of the Lion's mouth. It shook the whole town, the whole country, it terrified Jadis and the army a half mile away.

The final blow only took one moment, and with a gruesome and muffled _crack!_ it was done.

**Author's Note: I, I so sorry! I have been stuck in the monster's belly named life for two years and I just got out a week ago. There I met fat unicorn named lazy too. It was pretty intense. I apologize for my hiatus. I will attempt to finish this thing before college starts. Don't hate, enjoy!**


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